Title,Contract Number,Agency,Branch,Program,Year,Phase,Award Amount,SBC,Street,Street 2,City,State,ZIP,Woman-Owned?,Minority-Owned?,HUBZone-Owned?,Contact Name,Contact Title,Contact Phone,Contact Email,Principal Investigator,PI Title,PI Phone,PI Email,Abstract
A Point-of-Care Device for Diagnosis of Platelet Injury in Trauma Patients,FA8650-14-M-6521,DOD,DHP,SBIR,2014,1,149968.00,"HemoSonics, LLC",400 Preston Avenue,Suite 250,Charlottesville,VA,22903-,No,No,No,William F. Walker,President,(434) 202-1032,bwalker@hemosonics.com,Francesco Viola,Founder and VP Engineering,(434) 202-1032,fviola@hemosonics.com,"HemoSonics LLC is developing an easy to use and easy to interpret diagnostic device to rapidly identify diffuse coagulopathies in order to guide proper and evidence-based interventions. The management of diffuse coagulopathies is extremely important in military medicine as these conditions represent a significant source of combat morbidity and mortality. HemoSonics""device is based on sonorheometry, an ultrasound-based technology that can measure dynamic changes in clot stiffness during the process of coagulation and fibrinolysis. Sonorheometry does not require moving mechanical parts and utilizes a self-contained consumable cartridge with embedded lyophilized reagents. This technology has significant advantages over competing viscoelastometric devices such as TEG and ROTEM; sonorheometry is faster and more sensitive than TEG and ROTEM, it is ease to operate and to interpret, and it is robust to environmental vibrations. The overall goal of this proposal is to finalize the development of sonorheometry into a portable, rugged instrument that can be used in the expeditionary medicine environment. The focus in this Phase I application will be to complete demonstration of the feasibility of sonorheometry to rapidly measure the absolute contribution of platelets to clot stiffness using a real-time differential test."
FIRESTORM: Framework for Information Reasoning and Extraction for STatistical Object Recognition and pattern Matching,N00014-14-P-1124,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,1,149987.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,24060-6491,Yes,Yes,Yes,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,PI,(540) 951-5901,mabrams@harmonia.com,"The trend toward storage of data collected by the U.S. military and Intelligence Community (IC) in high performance computing facilities (i.e.,""data clouds"") enables historical retrospective comparison of data to new collections to facilitate pattern discovery for prediction. However, many of the techniques for reasoning and pattern recognition have yet to be applied to the emerging data cloud technologies. Moreover, the diversity of information now supported by data stores and computing scales of""Internet""magnitude exposes new opportunities for analysis, situational awareness, prediction and planning. Harmonia""s Framework for Information Reasoning and Extraction for STatistical Object Recognition and pattern Matching (FIRESTORM) is designed to assist the warfighter and intelligence analyst to evaluate massive datasets across many different dimensions, to find patterns that may predict critical impacts to operations, or windows of opportunity for mission courses of action. FIRESTORM will use DCGS-N Increment 2 and DCGS-A IC ITE technologies, including open source""Storm""topologies, to continuously transform data ingested by a cloud into layers that can be mapped to multiple dimensions of time and geography; and to automatically recognize patterns, using user-driven case-based reasoning, via massively parallel computation with GPU algorithms, Hadoop MapReduce, and Harmonia""s ONR-funded BumbleBee to coordinate computations across clouds."
"Small Form Factor Airborne HF, VHF and UHF RF Direction Finding",FA8650-14-C-1738,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,499946.00,Applied Signals Intelligence,"11501 Sunset Hills Rd., Suite 300",,Reston,VA,20190-4740,No,No,No,Jerry Lynch,COO,(571) 313-0681,jerry.lynch@asigint.com,Timothy Miller,Principal Investigator,(571) 313-0681,tim.miller@asigint.com,"ABSTRACT: The objective of this sequential Phase II SBIR is to deliver a Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6) airborne HF, VHF and UHF RF direction finding system that is suitable for integration with SUAS and to demonstrate it in a realistic airborne environment against representative signals. This proposed effort leverages the completed Army Phase I SBIR that demonstrated accurate DF in field tests, and outperformed the incumbent system in all DF performance metrics. The field test scenarios were for man-borne, on-the-go, DF in the HF, VHF and UHF bands and used realistic geometries and radios. The antenna assembly of the ASI system was 1/26th the volume of the incumbent system. The incumbent was only capable of DF on VHF and UHF communications. Tactical RF Sensing at HF, VHF and UHF frequencies to detect, identify, characterize and locate emitters is a technology gap across all services for a broad range of applications. Delivering the objective of this sequential Phase II SBIR demonstrates the closure of that gap and has the potential to drive significant strategic and commercial value. BENEFIT: Airborne RF sensing depends on antennas that can be integrated into aircraft. Airborne antennas for HF, VHF and UH frequencies are a technology portfolio gap due to their size. Traditional antennas are typically 1/4 wavelength long, configured either in arrays or mechanically rotated and must be located outside the metal airframe. At VHF (100MHz) and HF (10MHz) frequencies, typical antennas are 2ft and 20ft. These sizes are challenging to integrate into aircraft and payload structures, particularly for small and/or expendable UAS. At higher frequencies (L, X and K bands) the antennas are smaller and the challenges of integrating them into airframes are substantially relaxed. The objective of this Phase II SBIR is to deliver and demonstrate small form factor HF, VHF and UHF RF DF systems suitable for integration with SUAS (e.g. Puma AE, Silver Fox) to locate RF emitters, including radar and communication equipment. Future roadmap developments can enable this technology to operate on the full spectrum emitters: RF operating bands can be increased to higher frequencies; operating range can be increased from close-in SUAS tactical ranges to stand-off range RF sensing; and, the addition of RF emitter functions can enable radar spoofing. These combinations of features drive significant strategic and commercial value."
Analytical Processes for Predicting Nanosecond Response of Highly Rate-Sensitive Materials,N00014-14-C-0060,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,499752.00,"Hi-Test Laboratories, Inc",P.O. Box 87,1104 Arvon Rd.,Arvonia,VA,23004-,No,No,Yes,Neil Stout,Counsel,(434) 581-3204,neil.stout@hitestlabs.com,Christopher Key,Senior Engineer,(307) 760-8799,chris.key@hitestlabs.com,"Ballistic and blast protection of both the crew and vital equipment onboard U.S. Navy surface ships and carriers is a critical component in the design of topside structures on these vessels. Materials such as glass, Plexiglas and polyurea are being considered and implemented for protection in these applications due to their low density and inherent damage mechanisms which absorb large amounts of energy under high-velocity impact or blast loading conditions. Likewise, these material systems are being used in layered or laminated configurations to exploit the benefits of each individual material. However, the ability to numerically simulate these materials constitutive and damage behavior does not readily exist in traditional analysis tools. Therefore, for this effort we have proposed to utilize and implement three new constitutive material models for conventional glass, PMMA, and polyurea/polyurethane. The material models will initially be implemented within the shock hydrocode CTH and will allow for more accurate simulation of ballistic impact events on the material systems of interest and also offer a more efficient armor system design approach."
Expert System Simulation Capability for Recoverability Modeling,N00024-14-C-4097,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,1101767.00,"Test & Evaluation Solutions, LLC",400 Holiday Court,Suite 204,Warrenton,VA,20186-,No,No,No,Daniel Foos,Managing Member,(703) 304-5068,dfoos@tnesolutions.com,Derek Skahen,Principal Investigator,(703) 966-5319,dskahen@tnesolutions.com,"Recent events such as the fire on the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON have shown that communications and decision making can have a dominant impact on scenario outcomes involving shipboard fires. The processes by which information is learned, disseminated, assembled, and processed have a direct effect on where, when, and what kind of response is mounted by the crew. Current recoverability simulations, such as the Integrated Recoverability Model (IRM) are able to realistically emulate the interaction and dependencies of ship""s systems, initial systems configuration(s), structural and equipment damage from weapon effects, fire, flooding, and stability. The IRM is also able to simulate crew actions over time, but provides overly optimistic predictions of crew actions. Test & Evaluation Solutions, LLC, in partnership with Hughes Associates, Inc. proposes to address the crew behavior limitations of the IRM by developing a crew behavior module that works with the IRM Simulator and existing fire and flooding modules."
Decision Support for Anomaly Detection and Recovery for Unmanned System (ADRUS),N00014-14-C-0279,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,2,999705.00,Knexus Research Corp.,9120 Beachway Lane,,Springfield,VA,22153-,No,Yes,No,Kalyan Gupta,President,(855) 569-7373,kalyan.gupta@knexusresearch.com,Kalyan Gupta,President,(855) 569-7373,kalyan.gupta@knexusresearch.com,"Deployment of unmanned systems continues to expand across a wide range of missions; for example, logistics and resupply missions, force application and protection, and improving battlespace awareness. Presently these unmanned systems run at the lowest of four possible levels of autonomy, that is, in a teleoperated mode, and each system typically requires multiple operators. To address this problem of operator scalability, investigations into approaches for human supervised autonomy were called for in this SBIR. In Phase I, we took a step toward addressing this capability gap by developing a decision support system for Anomaly Detection and Recovery of Unmanned Systems (ADRUS). In particular, we demonstrated that ADRUS could successfully handle unexpected events or anomalies and replan to recover from them. Our demonstration included a proof-of-concept prototype implementation and its performance in simulated logistics and resupply missions. In Phase II, we will continue algorithmic development of anomaly detection, mission risk analysis, and replanning reasoning services to meet the performance requirements of our target transition environments. Our approaches and extensions will include methods for improving reasoning accuracies, model coverage and fidelity, as well as the ability to learn and improve knowledge models by exploiting operator interactions and decisions data. We will implement and evaluate progressively mature versions of ADRUS throughout the performance period. We will conduct repeated tests and evaluations (T & E) in simulation using realistic models of target unmanned platforms. Based on T & E, we will characterize the robustness, scalability, and coverage of ADRUS. In addition, we will evaluate the operational effectiveness resulting from human supervisory control enabled by ADRUS. For these evaluations, we will engage application subject matter experts (SME) and operators from candidate transition programs. We have initiated discussions with prime performers from target programs developing these unmanned platforms and we will develop our transition requirements accordingly."
Design Automation Software for Biomimetic Surface Presentation with DNA Origami,W911SR-14-C-0018,DOD,CBD,SBIR,2014,2,999970.00,"Parabon NanoLabs, Inc.",11260 Roger Bacon Drive,Suite 406,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Paula Gawthorp-Armentrout,Corporate Secretary,(703) 689-9689,parmentrout@parabon.com,Steven Armentrout,Co-Founder&CEO,(703) 689-9689,steve@parabon.com,"A development program is proposed for a design automation software package that enables the generation of complex surfaces, with user defined or automated definition of point charge and hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties, using DNA origami as a presentation substrate. Building upon Parabon""s existing software for DNA origami design, this project will result in software that can be used to design and optimize DNA origami modifications to achieve target charge and hydration force distributions. The objects to be generated with this software will be able to mimic any of the many surface/surface interactions found in biological or technological applications. Such design software will significantly expand the capabilities of users to produce systems that are capable of highly specific interactions with target macromolecular species. The design software will enable designers to compose designs from well-understood design motifs, and to manipulate designs at varying levels of abstraction, resulting in significant improvements in designer productivity as well as design quality. The software developed under this project will also employ emerging user interface technology to ease the interaction with 3D design objects and to support additional pathways to convey important design information."
Porphyrin-DNA Origami Constructs as Bioscavengers for Organophosphates,W911SR-14-C-0033,DOD,CBD,SBIR,2014,1,100000.00,"Parabon NanoLabs, Inc.",11260 Roger Bacon Drive,Suite 406,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Paula Gawthorp-Armentrout,VP&Corporate Officer,(703) 689-9689,parmentrout@parabon.com,David Danley,"VP, Vaccine Development",(703) 689-9689,dave@parabon.com,"The recent use of organophosphate (OP) nerve agents against combatants and civilians in Syria has validated the importance of developing new drugs and biologics that sequester and catalytically degrade organophosphate (OP) nerve agents in the body before they cause morbidity and mortality. We propose to develop a method for the sequestration of OP simulants via porphyrin-DNA constructs. Constructs will be designed and synthesized based upon published approaches and molecular modeling and will be compatible with integration into DNA origami. The DNA origami, in turn, can be modified to meet CBD14-104 requirements for extended serum half-life, lyophilization, and stable shelf life, but equally important, is their biocompatibility, ability to incorporate other constructs for nerve agent sequestration, and ease of production. Successful demonstration of the proposed approach offers the opportunity for development of a novel biopharmaceutical(s) to protect military personnel against OP nerve agents and toxic industrial chemicals."
Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) Software to Accelerate Underwater Acoustic Autonomous Modeling and Processing,N00024-14-P-4040,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79994.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,Linda.Leonard@3phoenix.net,Russ Jeffers,Principal Investigator,(703) 956-6480,russ.jeffers@3phoenix.net,"3 Phoenix, Inc. proposes to develop and evaluate technology that provides a substantial improvement in processing capability for autonomous sonar processing. Improved signal processing, automated classification and propagation models place additional loads on battery power. 3Pi proposes to demonstrate feasibility of a relevant software application running in hardware using 7.5-10 watts. We propose to compute hardware benchmarks in order to evaluate processing/power trade-offs. The proposed approach leverages commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) processor hardware. We have significant experience developing low power implementations of signal processing and automated classification software and firmware, and the proposed approach for the Phase I research is to leverage previous work. We anticipate that experience at 3Pi in this field will allow successful development of solutions appropriate for multiple Navy problems."
Engineering Sensors for Towed Array Reliability,N00024-14-C-4043,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,3999939.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,Linda.Leonard@3phoenix.net,John Tullai,Program Manager,(410) 712-0471,John.Tullai@3phoenix.net,"The operational need for this improved towed array technology insertion initiative stems from the necessity to improve availability and reliability of towed arrays in use on submarines in both shallow and deep water environments, and represents a critical submarine capability enhancement. The proposed project will extend and transition the telemetry, packaging and iPEN technologies developed under SBIR Topic N111-075, and N04-138. The specific emphasis of this technology transition is improved reliability for the TB-29A Towed Array. Optimal TB-29A performance and availability requires a balance of design ruggedness, improved resilience, and improved reliability. The use of previous SBIR technologies has the potential to increase all of these. These reliability improvements are based on simplified architecture and corresponding connector reduction, lower power, and the use of pressure vessels to protect the telemetry components from towing and handling stresses while also allowing for failure analysis and repair. A collateral benefit is improved monitoring from additional sensors built into the telemetry components. 3Pi plans to build one (1) TB-29A Reliability Upgrade (RU) Towed Array and test through array harness testing, factory acceptance testing, lake and sea trial testing during this effort."
Mine Drift Prediction Tactical Decision Aid (TDA),N00014-14-P-1061,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79962.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Lewis Hart,Principal Investigator,(703) 968-8040,lhart@adaptivemethods.com,"Adaptive Methods, teamed with Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation (NASC), proposes to develop algorithms for a Tactical Decision Aid (TDA) capable of adaptively tracking and predicting the locations of drifting mines. The TDA is capable of optimizing Mine Counter Measure (MCM) asset deployment plans and producing maneuver routes that minimize ship risks. Our approach develops new technologies for a MIW TDA which provides mine drift prediction and MIW planning by: leveraging and adapting. This approach leverages Navmar Applied Science Corporation""s capabilities and experience in sonobuoy drift prediction; and by adapts the Adaptive Methods""existing Context-aware Multi-Objective Planner (CMOP). The effort will demonstrate the feasibility of combining a drift mine prediction tracker with a multi-objective planner to provide a MIW TDA which will reduce the manpower needed to develop safe and effective MCM plans."
Visualization Framework for Navy Tactical Applications,N00024-14-C-4013,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,742644.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Mark Outhier,Principal Investigator,(703) 968-8040,mouthier@adaptivemethods.com,"This proposal addresses the challenges presented by multiple systems currently fielded onboard various Navy platforms containing incoherent USW C2 capabilities. These systems include CV-TSC, USW-DSS, SQQ-89/CADRT, GCCS-M, CFn and SWFTS. The redundant and overlapping capabilities, amplified by less than ideal integration between the systems requires duplicate data entries to get the same information on each display. This process is both cumbersome and prone to error. The objective of this proposal is to provide a complete paradigm for application development and deployment as well as offer device agnostic and rendering environment agnostic Open Source APIs. This approach allows multiple organizations to contribute their""best of breed""features to a common geospatial environment that will save time and cost of transitions. The Phase I efforts were focused on research and development of a common Visualization Framework that may be used to assemble customizable tactical display applications from tactical feature modules that are re-usable across programs. The proposed Phase II efforts will expand these capabilities to provide a more powerful set of general user interface capabilities in line with the needs of C2 applications from multiple programs."
Data Fusion for USW Common Tactical Picture,N00024-14-C-4014,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,375000.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Rick Taylor,Principal Investigator,(703) 968-8040,rtaylor@adaptivemethods.com,"This proposal addresses the challenges presented by multiple tactical pictures being fielded via various Navy systems that attempt to provide a""Common Tactical Picture""(CTP). These systems include CV-TSC, USW-DSS, SQQ-89/CADRT, GCCS-M, AEGIS, SSDS, CFn and SWFTS. These redundant and overlapping capabilities ultimately require operators to mentally visualize a hybrid CTP since no single system or display provides the complete, timely, and accurate CTP needed to effectively conduct the ASW mission. Adaptive Methods proposes a Sailor-centric approach for concept definition, ASW systems engineering, and CTP algorithm development and automation. The primary objective of this proposal is to provide the capability for the ASW Commander to develop and share an accurate, real-time Common Tactical Picture (CTP) that conveys his intent with minimal workload on operators across the Force. During the Phase I effort, work was focused on documenting workflows for the CTP, identifying the information needed at the decisions points and how this information will be carried. Ultimately we defined a methodology for creating and automatically distributing the CTP. In the proposed Phase II effort, the objective is to design and build a prototype of the CTP methodology and conduct additional research for implementation for a persistent Master Tactical Plot."
Fat Line Towed Array Straightening System,N00024-14-C-4015,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,739950.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Jim Wiggins,Principal Investigator,(301) 840-9722,jwiggins@adaptivemethods.com,"Submarines have a need for situational awareness at all times. They are equipped with Fat Line acoustic arrays such as the T-16 and the TB-34 in order to provide this awareness. However, at low tow speeds the array droops from front to back and also loses straightness. This spatial distortion reduces the array""s acoustic effectiveness. A solution is needed to keep these arrays straight and level at tow speeds between 1.5 and 3 knots. A potential solution is considered, dubbed the Speed Sensitive Pod for Drag Resistance (SSPDR). The SSPDR is a passive device that automatically deploys at low tow speeds to generate increased drag, straightening the array. However, it automatically retracts at higher speeds, reducing the total array drag to near-normal levels. This device would be installed toward the end of the Fat Line array in such a way that it does not adversely impact the STA array. The proposal discusses how the offeror will design the above device and accurately model the proposed design to verify specification compliance."
Autonomous Environmental Sensor Performance Prediction Tool for Multi-Static Active and Passive Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Systems,N68335-14-C-0204,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79908.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Robert Blanchard,Principal Investigator,(703) 968-8040,rblanchard@adaptivemethods.com,"Current Air ASW sensor systems are complex in form and function with many operational settings as is the nature of the littoral and deep-water range- and time-dependent underwater acoustic environments in which the Navy applies them. Determining 3-dimensional sensor distributions and settings for optimal detection capability for an operational area and target of interest is difficult. Present modeling capabilities applied to sensor placement and setting optimization are necessarily constrained in spatial and temporal fidelity because of the curse of dimensionality: substantially more computing power is needed to calculate the best scenario from a full range of sensor settings and distributions over wide areas. A multi-stage, multi-threaded, distributed, and automated multi-static active and passive modeling and simulation capability is needed to help warfighters make decisions on where to fight, and once committed, make the best choice of sensor system to use (including distribution and settings) and provide feedback to improve coordination of future sorties based on in situ data. Innovative strategies employing alternative metrics to traditional probability of detection will be assessed for feasibility. Adaptive Methods and the Applied Physics Laboratory are well poised, based on previous work in this area, to bring forth this desired capability."
Active Sonar Interference Avoidance Planning,N00024-14-P-4538,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79955.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Pete Nulty,Principla Investigator,(727) 532-0631,pnulty@adaptivemethods.com,"Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) acoustic mission planning is a very complex problem that needs to take into account many factors to achieve overall mission objectives. Blue Force capabilities and vulnerabilities, Red Force capabilities and vulnerabilities, ASW mission posture and priority, search time allocation, area size, and environmental factors all play a significant role in determining the best course of action (COA) to successfully achieve mission objectives. Each one of these factors can affect overall sensor performance and/or probability of detection and require experienced planners to take each factor into account while trying to develop optimal COAs, search routes, and sensor lineups. The Navy has made significant investments in developing tools addressing the challenges referenced above, aiding the planners in creating effective ASW Mission Plans. However, one area that could benefit from additional enhancement is in assisting the users in the development of an improved Active Sensor Interference Avoidance Plan (ASIAP) and/or search methodology that will reduce the likelihood of mutual interference (MI). The focus of this proposal is to outline an approach for solving this problem through the use of automation tools and visual aids to better integrate ASIAP factors in the overall mission planning process."
System-agnostic Mission Data Recording and Reconstruction for Surface Combatants,N00024-14-P-4556,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79932.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Sarah Cronin,Principal Investigator,(301) 947-2570,scronin@adaptivemethods.com,"Current US Navy sonar recorder systems have often been developed as adjunct tools for data collection without consideration of a holistic approach for system wide record and playback. Specifically, many existing fleet systems have an assortment of unique recording tools that are specialized for specific data types and formats making analysis of the entire system""s performance cumbersome and labor intensive. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program presents unique challenges to recording due to its modular mission architecture. Currently, there is no over-arching recorder that is common across its mission packages. Moreover, while each mission module might contain dedicated recorders or data collection tools, these are specific only to the module and do not collate data across a given mission package. Thus, for LCS, it is currently not possible to reconstruct or analyze the entire mission as it occurred. The focus of this proposal is on solving this issue by developing a comprehensive, fully-integrated, data agnostic record and playback service that is common and available across all mission packages and flexible enough to evolve with changing mission package requirements and capabilities."
Preventing Program Hijacking via Static and Dynamic Analyses,N00014-14-C-0197,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,2,863602.00,Zephyr Software LLC,2040 Tremont Rd,,Charlottesville,VA,22911-8653,No,No,No,Jack W. Davidson,President,(434) 242-4280,jwd@zephyr-software.com,Clark L. Coleman,Research Scientist,(434) 284-3002,clc@zephyr-software.com,"To hijack the execution of a program, an attacker must overwrite the value of a return address or a function pointer (broadly defined). To prevent program hijacking, our product will provide a layered defense of these two targets, including deterministic and randomization defenses, with the ability in many cases to continue execution after a hijacking attempt is prevented. Our product toolkit includes static analysis of the program binary to be protected (no source code required) and dynamic monitoring using virtual machine technology after deployment. The randomization defense can be used to provide artificial software diversity."
Near Net Shape and Cost Effective Rapid Powder Consolidation Manufacturing of Advanced Microwave Tube Materials/Components,N00014-14-P-1199,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,79998.00,"Utron Kinetics, LLC",9441 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Ali Khan,Contracts Specialist,(703) 369-5552,alik@utroninc.com,Karthik Nagarthnam,Principal Investigator,(703) 369-5552,karthikn@utronkinetics.com,"The major objectives of the Phase I effort will be focused on CDC higher pressure combustion (using natural gas or hydrogen-GREEN MANUFACTURING) driven powder compaction fabrication of select alloys for Microwave Tube Related Component end uses for NAVY using powders of varying sizes and vacuum-grade purity such as Cupro-Nickel, Stainless Steels (e.g., 316 LN, Custom 465 high strength version), Monel 404 and select Molybdenum Based Alloys (e.g., Molybdenum, Mo-W, Mo-Hf-HfC, Mo-with Lanthanum Oxide; Mo-Re) and Other Competitive Alloys of stainless steel equivalents with reduced Ni content for feasibility. Select geometrical shapes of mechanical test coupons, small scale cylinders (0.66 inch/1.35 inch dia cylinders) and other geometries (including hollow-cylindrical geometry of 1.8 inch OD; 1.65 inch ID and 1 inch height using the most promising molybdenum based materials) will be fabricated using CDC method as a proof of concept. UTRON Kinetics""s uniquely controllable higher pressure compaction up to 150 tsi in rapid compaction times (milliseconds) and then process them for property evaluation. 300/400 Ton CDC compaction press is planned for use in the proposed work. Proposed research is planned to use the current tooling for mechanical test coupons, small scale cylinders, and modified tooling for the representative hollow cylinder geometry for NAVY""s MWT (in consultation with CPII) at UTRON Kinetics in Phase I and Option. Proposed tasks include suitable CDC compaction parameters, powder chemistry/morphologies, thermal post-processing, physical/geometrical properties of green and sintered parts under select thermal processing (e.g., vacuum, argon environment etc) conditions, mechanical strength/ductility properties at room temperature, microstructures, microchemistry, thermal and electrical conductivity, high vacuum leak resistance testing, and thermal cyclic stress behavior as required for microwave tube product end uses. We have both Georgia Tech and CPII as subcontract collaborators. Phase I option will be used also for further evaluation of the most promising samples in consultation with NAVY sponsors. More advanced material compositions, complex part fabrication, and scaling up for cost effective manufacturing will be evaluated in Phase II and beyond. Proposed work has several potential end users from the Industries as well as from the DOD."
Near-Field Velocity Measurement System for Wind Tunnel Testing,FA9101-14-C-0007,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,425000.00,Applied University Research,605 Preston Ave.,,Blacksburg,VA,24060-4618,No,No,No,Roger L. Simpson,President,(540) 961-3005,rogersimpson@aurinc.com,Roger L. Simpson,President,(540) 961-3005,rogersimpson@aurinc.com,"ABSTRACT: Significant advances to subminiature three-velocity component laser-Doppler velocimetry (SM3LDV) technologies developed through the AEDC SBIR program will be implemented using technologies and resources from several groups. The transition activities address five needs. A new more compact optical probe for 16T will be enabled by leveraging coherent laser behavior to obtain three-velocity component measurements with excellent spatial resolution through a single transceiver lens design. Second, to avoid the long fiber optics cables required for the SM3LDV for use in the 16T wind tunnel exhibit non-linear phenomena that significantly degrade probe performance, an environment chamber will be constructed to house the photonics cart within the pressure vessel of 16T and reduce test times in the 16T when using the SM3LDV. Third, the AUR Studio software, largely developed through AEDC SBIR funding, will be upgraded for more ease of post-processing, saving the customer significant labor time for preparation of final test results. To address other needs of the US Air Force, a novel compact probe and linear/rotary traverse system will be developed under this effort for low speed wind tunnel applications at AFRL at WPAFB. Finally, the photodetector package will be improved for immunity to radio frequency interference and for response beyond 500MHz. BENEFIT: The SM3LDV implemented into the PWT 16T wind tunnel is a new capability not available at any other facility at the Reynolds number and Mach number conditions achievable. The improvements proposed would greatly improve the reliability of the current technology as well as reducing costs by reducing the amount of time required to analyze test data."
Monolithic Line-of-Sight Stabilized (MLOSS) Laser,FA8651-14-M-0142,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149998.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Kane,Executive Vice President,(520) 770-6099,contracts@arete.com,Andrew Paul,Principal Scientist,(520) 770-6061,apaul@arete.com,"Laser designation and marking is critical in today's high precision combat environment. Performance is limited by how well the soldier can hold the laser beam onto the target. Current fielded laser designator systems minimize beam pointing error by employing a heavy'stabilized'mount. Having to carry a current fielded stabilized laser system with the heavy tripod impairs the combat effectiveness of the soldier. A smaller, lighter laser designator system such as the Line of Sight-Short (LOS-S) will enhance the soldier""s mobility and reduce his fatigue. A miniature, lightweight laser beam stabilizer component is required for the LOS-S to maintain the required volume and weight of the laser designator/marker. To address this problem Arete Associates proposes a Monolithic LOS Stabilized (MLOSS) laser designator/marker system based on innovative laser beam steering technology that leverages existing Arete program activities in the area of LOS stabilization and laser development."
Dual Mode Seeker/Sensor -LADAR/RF,FA8651-14-M-0154,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149924.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Kane,EVP,(520) 770-6099,contracts2@arete.com,Greg Fetzer,Director,(303) 651-6756,gfetzer@arete.com,"Dual mode seekers can increase lethality, particularly in GPS denied environments or in situations where precision targeting is required, for example in areas where collateral damage must be minimized. The objective of this proposal is to provide a dual mode sensor that provides the greatest utility to the government in understanding the unique opportunities and tradeoffs of an operational capability. Arete proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of unique aspects of dual mode operation. Utilizing data from collocated ladar and radar sensors Arete and its teammate Colorado Engineering Inc. will demonstrate signal and image processing based approaches to navigation and targeting using a dual mode sensor. Processing to extract targets from camouflage and concealment will also be demonstrated. The team will produce an extensible sensor design, to be produced in Phase II which can then serve as an operable technology test and demonstration platform."
Sensing and Control Technology to Assist in Vehicle Launch and Recovery,N00014-14-P-1175,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79968.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Kane,Executive Vice President,(520) 770-6099,contracts@arete.com,Lonnie Calmes,"Senior Manager, Engineeri",(520) 770-6066,lcalmes@arete.com,"Arete Associates proposes an end-to-end solution to the challenge of at-sea launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vessels that incorporates the future state of the vessel into a robust crane control loop. By fielding an ocean penetrating, eye-safe LIDAR system on the recovery ship, the state of the vessel and the spectrum of the ocean waves in a field of regard around the vessel will be measured simultaneously at high resolution and frequency. Using the measured ocean-wave spectrum, the future position of the vessel will be predicted. Both the measured state and the predicted future state of the vessel will be incorporated into a crane control loop, that also comprehends the ship state and crane state, to both update the positioning of the crane and potentially send updates to the vessel. Since the future state of the vessel is included in the control loop, the sensitivity of the system to ocean-wave-induced fluctuations will be vastly reduced, especially at high sea state. Using Ocean Simulator software, a detailed radiometric LIDAR model, and control loop models, Arete will simulate the launch and recovery of at-sea vessels and establish a proof-of-concept of our approach for sea states 1-6."
Adaptive Radar Detection Approaches for Low-RCS Maritime Vessels in Highly Variable Clutter Conditions,N00014-14-P-1147,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79813.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Campion,Vice President,(818) 885-2443,contracts2@arete.com,Andrew Harey,Principal Scientist,(818) 885-2200,aharey@arete.com,"Arete Associates proposes a Phase I effort to develop a radar mode that leverages a long coherent integration times to improve the detection of small boat targets in maritime environments up to sea state 4. The overall objective of this SBIR project is to then integrate these techniques and necessary algorithms into an end-to-end radar system signal processing system. The Phase I base effort will focus on demonstrating the basic concept of non-coherent state estimation to aid in coherent reprocessing. Successful demonstration of these concepts in the base effort will lead to their refinement in the option phase, in anticipation of inclusion in an operational system."
Light Weight Coastal Topographic/ Bathymetric Charting System for Naval Unmanned Airborne Vehicles,N68335-14-C-0120,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,749938.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Kane,Executive Vice President,(520) 770-6099,contracts@arete.com,Ryan Redford,Program Manager,(520) 571-8660,rredford@arete.com,"Arete Associates has developed a compact lightweight lidar system for precision bathymetry and topography suitable for operation from a small tactical unmanned aerial vehicle. The subject of this Phase 2 SBIR is to adapt this existing system to perform submarine detection, classification, and localization. System adaptations include hardware upgrades to optimize ASW performance, implementation of optimal submarine detection algorithms into an on-board real-time processing system, and direct demonstration of the ASW capability by open ocean flights over representative submarine targets. Arete Associates has participated in virtually every program in airborne lidar for ocean remote sensing since the mid-1980s, and is the leading developer of blue-green lidar systems for the US Navy for mine detection applications such as the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS). By leveraging the operational experience with ASW lidar systems, the engineering expertise with airborne mine countermeasure systems, and the innovative designs of the compact lightweight bathymetric lidar, this SBIR provides an outstanding opportunity for the direct demonstration of the utility of a small compact lidar for real-time submarine detection and classification."
Autonomous Underwater Image Processing,N00014-14-C-0159,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,497654.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Kane,Executive Vice President,(520) 571-8660,contracts@arete.com,David Hamrick,Sr. Program Manager,(520) 770-6106,dhamrick@arete.com,"Arete Associates will develop and deliver autonomous image processing algorithms that execute in real-time onboard unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) neutralizers. The real-time image enhancement algorithms mitigate backscatter, surface effects, and platform video motion using single frame and temporal processing techniques. Additionally, the autonomous algorithms optimally control the UUV illumination through statistical sampling techniques and dynamically compress imagery to match limited bandwidth transmission. The proposed effort includes trade studies for a suitable processor architecture meeting SS-DTE requirements, a detailed real-time algorithm implementation, and SS-DTE system integration. Capability demonstrations progress from demonstration in a lab environment to a tank demonstration and finally a real-time demonstration on the SS-DTE test bed."
Algorithms for IR data,FA9453-14-M-0139,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149992.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Campion,Vice President,(818) 885-2200,contracts@arete.com,Scott Dobson,Manager,(818) 885-2251,sdobson@arete.com,"ABSTRACT: Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) is emerging as a key enabling technology for new defense applications. It can address many militarily-relevant targets and missions by detecting and tracking signals of interest across a range of lengthscales and timescales. Specifically in the short-wave (SWIR) wavelengths, OPIR can observe stationary, slow-moving, or fast-moving targets and provide tactical parameter estimates. The proposed effort will develop algorithms for real-time processing onboard OPIR platforms which will extract increasingly subtle signatures (smaller and/or dimmer targets) in more challenging clutter environments. The effort will focus initially on demonstrating an algorithm chain for preprocessing, clutter suppression, and track-before-detect processing. Several important mission sets would be addressed by integrating algorithms to mitigate multiple sources of noise and clutter in OPIR data. Future systems could generate a stream of geolocated detections, rapidly delivered to analysts and warfighters, supporting higher-level data analysis and trend detection, cueing and fusion with other sensors. Down the road, more sophisticated onboard processing will allow multiple sensor platforms to coordinate in real time as a system-of-systems, further improving geolocation and characterization. This technology would be transitioned by integrating into a future flight test or other proof-of-concept demonstration, as well as integrating into ground processing for existing systems. BENEFIT: This real-time image processing chain would enable overhead imaging platforms to process data immediately after it is acquired, before it is transmitted to a ground station. Onboard algorithms could improve the quality and relevance of the imagery, reduce the need to transmit wideband information, and provide inputs to future autonomous or semi-autonomous system concepts. A successful track-before-detect algorithm would address a range of noise sources endemic to OPIR data, and could be adapted to commercial applications at other wavelengths. Commercial aerial and satellite imaging systems could use the technologies developed here to assess traffic conditions, monitor high-value assets, or detect environmental changes."
Power scaling of blue lasers with high peak-power and repetition rate for detection of underwater objects,N68335-14-C-0239,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79948.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Kane,EVP,(520) 770-6099,contracts2@arete.com,Micah Boyd,Senior Scientist,(303) 651-6756,mboyd@arete.com,"The objective is to develop a low size, weight and power (SWaP), scalable high peak-power blue laser system for use as a transmitter source for detection of underwater objects from an airborne platform. Arete""s approach leverages recent advances in Diode Pumped Solid-State Lasers (DPSSL) components, technology, and know-how. In particular, Arete has developed high peak power lasers in the deep UV at 236 nm for application in remote detection of chemical and biological agents. This system uses a high-performance 946 nm Nd:YAG laser as a starting point with an intermediate frequency double stage that generates 473 nm. Arete""s proposal is based on this approach."
Development of Analysis Techniques for Predicting Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) Equipped UAV Performance in Naval Anti-Submarine Warfare Environmen,N68335-14-C-0198,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79944.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Campion,Vice President,(818) 885-2443,contracts2@arete.com,Brian Platt,Principal Scientist,(818) 885-2200,bplatt@arete.com,"This effort will design tactical decision aid (TDA) software that will estimate the performance of a magnetometer-equipped UAV seeking to exploit the magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) signatures of a submerged submarine. Arete Associates will design software to yield estimates of performance such as probability of detection as well as appropriate search pattern flight paths. The environmental conditions to be considered include noise from geomagnetic sources, geology and ocean waves. Tactical considerations include search pattern orientation and potential encounter orientations with respect to the Earth""s field, swell direction, wind and other factors. The software plan will identify modules encapsulating each of the relevant models or algorithms. A module integration plan will develop a Monte Carlo framework to evaluate probability of detection and other measures of effectiveness, allowing candidate search patterns to be ranked. Arete Associates will assess these plans for feasibility, taking into consideration module speed, maturity and other design factors. Under the Phase I Option task, Arete Associates will develop prototypes of key modules to instantiate a basic prototype of the TDA software."
An Advanced Algorithm for Radar Derived Bathymetry,WC-133R-14-CN-0119,DOC,NOAA,SBIR,2014,2,399900.79,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Douglas F. DeProspo,Vice President,(703) 413-0290,ddeprospo@arete.com,Steven P. Anderson,Sr. Principal Scientist,(703) 413-0290,spanderson@arete.com,"NOAA can reduce costs and improve efficiency by remotely monitoring harbors, navigation channels and coastlines for bathymetric changes. This will aid NOAA and its mission to maintain waterways and assure maritime safety. This remote sensing can be accomplished by implementing a new radar derived bathymetry capability.
Areté Associated proposes to implement an advanced algorithm to derive bathymetry from times-series wave imagery obtained from shore based navigation radars. NOAA will benefit directly from our experience developing and transitioning other remote bathymetry solutions.
Our proposed approach includes the following benefits:
•A low risk approach that exploits linear wave dispersion and Fourier analysis
•High spatial resolution and accuracy retrievals using new variational assimilation approach.
•Algorithm testing and implementation in prototype operational software executable with documentation delivered to NOAA.
•A flexible and adaptive solution that can be used with NOAA’s existing radar systems and extended to other platforms.
The success of Phase II will produce prototype software for a real-time, shore based radar bathymetry capability. This demonstration software is the next step towards NOAA long term goal of an operational remote bathymetric measurement system suitable for both land and ship based radar systems."
Path Planner for Dynamic Environments,FA8650-14-C-7405,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,499832.00,"TORC Robotics, LLC","2200 Kraft Dr, Ste 2050",,Blacksburg,VA,24060-,No,No,No,Garnett Linkous,Contracts Manager,(540) 443-6687,linkous@torcrobotics.com,David C. Conner,Senior Research Scientist,(540) 443-6679,conner@torcrobotics.com,"ABSTRACT: Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) have shown promise enhancing a number of military missions; however, most successful autonomous systems have been employed in highly structured environments. To enable operations in militarily relevant, unstructured environments at an operational tempo, a number of obstacle avoidance and planning challenges must be overcome. A viable autonomous system should require minimal supervisory control and operate across a variety of environments from off-road cross-country terrain to dynamic urban environments. TORC Robotics, LLC (TORC) is working to address these challenges in a number of active projects with the Air Force Research Labs, the Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (JGRE) and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL). The enhanced behaviors and perception capabilities integrated to support the combat-airstrip survey mission will further the goal of enabling operations in military-relevant, dynamic environments. BENEFIT: The research under this SBIR will provide the benefit of extended feedback and new runway survey capabilities to the AFSOC end AFCEC communities. Commercial applications will evolve from additional development for continuous runway surveys and monitoring."
Development of Novel and Emerging Technology for the Enhancement of Fault Diagnostics,N68335-14-C-0127,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79974.00,"ASSETT, Incorporated",11220 ASSETT Loop,Suite 101,Manassas,VA,20109-3999,No,No,No,Evan Kohn,President,(703) 365-7859,evan.kohn@assett.net,Robert McCaig,"Sr. VP, Chief Technology",(703) 365-8940,bob.mccaig@assett.net,"This effort will develop innovative methods and an enhanced diagnostic tool to optimize maintenance for the Trident II (D5) Weapon System Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) by determining the most effective maintenance path considering history, likelihood of success for corrective actions, and time constraints. Using prognostic techniques the INS Maintenance Assist Tool (IMAT) will determine the likelihood of future failures and then provide preventative corrective action recommendations. In Phase I we will develop an approach and proof of concept to evaluate the feasibility of our proposed methods and tool and document the results in a detailed research report."
Smart Aircraft Conceptual Design in Multidisplinary Design Optimization,FA8650-14-M-2508,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149997.00,AVID LLC,120 Newsome Drive,Suite A,Yorktown,VA,23692-,No,No,No,Randy Simpson,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 961-0067,adminteam@avidaerospace.com,Paul Gelhausen,Chief Technical Officer,(757) 886-2611,pgelhausen@avidaerospace.com,"AVID will develop software to perform interactive conceptual design integration to enable improved estimates of performance, including weight and balance associated with early definition of subsystems layout and integration. The software will leverage AVID""s expertise in geometric modeling for conceptual design, along with the integration with multidisciplinary analyses. Three-dimensional visualization of the aircraft for both internal and external configurations will be accomplished through platform independent software. The tool will operate in both interactive and batch modes for integration with design environments. Optimization of component placement will be developed. An overarching objective is to provide software with an intuitive graphics user interface to enable quick development of multiple design choices by a small team or single designer. At the conclusion of the Phase I project, AVID will be able to demonstrate an interactive system that generates models of systems and subsystems, pulls models from a library of components, automatically generates the inboard profile, manages a margined weight statement, and provides both graphical results that display the current state of the design and text output that can be sent to other analysis tools through an integration environment."
"Autonomous or Remotely-Operated Maintenance of Ships""Tanks",N00024-14-P-4545,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79995.00,AVID LLC,120 Newsome Drive,Suite A,Yorktown,VA,23692-,No,No,No,Randy Simpson,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 961-0067,adminteam@avidaerospace.com,O. Ohanian,Director of Technology Pr,(540) 961-0067,johanian@avidaerospace.com,"Autonomous and remotely operated maintenance of complex Navy ship tanks represents a significant challenge in robotics. To solve this problem, AVID LLC is teaming with Carnegie Mellon and Virginia Tech to address this challenge using an air-ground team of robots. AVID""s small 8""EDF-8 ducted fan hovering robot was designed to fly through 15""tank portholes and carry up to 1 lb of payload. This air robot will perform rapid tank inspections using VT's 3D mapping of the structure with detailed location data for areas needing maintenance. This data will be used for path planning of CMU""s snake robots that are designed for operations in confined spaces. The ground robot""s movements within the tank will be minimized while still accomplishing the objective of the necessary industrial processes (painting, sanding, welding). Since ground mobility within complex tank structures is the largest risk to mission success, the rapid inspection and mapping from the aerial platform will save time, mitigate risks, and provide a more reliable overall solution. In the end, robotic maintenance of ship voids and ballast/fuel tanks will greatly reduce the risk to human life with the potential of reducing costs in the long term."
Shape Changing Maneuverable Munition Using Novel Alloys/Materials for Flight Performance Enhancements,W15QKN-14-C-0046,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2014,2,446315.00,AVID LLC,120 Newsome Drive,Suite A,Yorktown,VA,23692-,No,No,No,Randy Simpson,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 961-0067,adminteam@avidaerospace.com,O. J. Ohanian,Director of Technology Pr,(540) 961-0067,johanian@avidaerospace.com,"AVID LLC will develop a retrofit kit for standard 81 mm mortar munitions using Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) to increase range more than 100% and add precision GPS targeting. SMA materials provide large actuation forces and require minimal packaging volume, thereby allowing more volume for internal components and payload. The shape-changing mortar solution will be a low-cost, add-on package retrofitting to an existing interface. We will leverage our controls expertise to ensure open-loop stability in every phase of flight and precision-guidance to a GPS location. Wind tunnel testing of the projectile will be performed, yielding high-fidelity simulations of its performance. Novel techniques for controlling the SMA actuators that are simple and robust will be developed and demonstrated. Finite element analysis (FEA) and high-G drop testing will ensure the newly designed components can survive the high-G launch loads. Temperature tests from -45F to +145F will prove the components are suitable for Army operations. AVID, in partnership with Virginia Tech""s Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures (CIMSS), will deliver two smart mortar prototypes ready for flight-testing at the end of the Phase II effort. The innovative technology developed will be scalable to gun-launched projectiles of various sizes, providing broad commercial possibilities."
High Data Rate Acoustic Communication,N00014-14-P-1062,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79816.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President and CTO,(703) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Joe Schwarzwalder,Director Signal Processin,(703) 308-1427,joe.schwarzwalder@azuresummit.com,yes
Large Time Band Width Product Signal Acquisition Processors,N00014-14-P-1161,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79932.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Mark Sullivan,Chief Scientist,(571) 308-1402,mark.sullivan@azuresummit.com,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc. (Azure) will use the acquisition processor to process a wideband stream of RF spectrum. A""virtual tuner""will process this stream to provide applications with baseband data at desired bandwidths, center frequencies, and time intervals. The wideband stream will also be monitored for new signal activity, and baseband data associated with this activity will be delivered to applications for further characterization. The application software resides in a heterogeneous cloud of computing resources."
Secure Time Aiding in Challenged RF environments,FA9453-14-M-0073,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,148974.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,"ABSTRACT: Azure Summit proposes to leverage ongoing work with DARPA, AFRL, and the Navy to survey potential signals that can be used to harvest precise time, quantify the performance and expectation of trust that can be established, and architect a system solution to create this capability and disseminate it to tactical users. Timing Extraction from Wireless SignalsAzure will leverage our extensive experience in SIGINT, and prior studies using signals of opportunity (SoOPs) for PNT, to perform a trade study to look at both commercial and military wireless networks and signals, to understand and recommend their utility for time transfer. We assume a software defined radio (SDR) at each node in the notional system to perform this survey, collaboratively make timing measurements and achieve synchrony, update databases, and aid GPS. Phase I of this research is a study effort to explore the possibilities in the world of wireless signals that can potentially be sources of timing informationdespite GPS being jammedthat we can accurately, and confidently, use to aid tactical military GPS receivers who have the C/A signal jammed, and which need time aiding to about 1ms accuracy in order to achieve direct acquisition of P(Y) or M-Code. BENEFIT: For the proposed military GPS time aiding technology, Azure leverages existing capabilities, technology and transition partnerships, and ongoing AFRL, DARPA, and Navy investments that will all be leveraged towards the proposed initiative. We summarize our plan as follows: 1) Kick off Phase I and immediately determine with AFRL if the accelerated SBIR Pilot program is applicable, and if so develop a plan to move rapidly into a Phase II. 2) In Phase I and Phase II, work closely with the Air Force, Rockwell, and other stakeholders to select the best development and demonstration path to demonstrate secure time aiding to one or more tactical GPS receivers, and determine under what CONOPS and scenarios they best fit; 3) Work with the Air Force to determine the best path forward with respect to tactical networks, which will require GFI and GFE radio equipment. Demonstrate our prototype in Phase II with Tactical GPS receivers, and tactical networks if appropriate; 4) Work with the Air Force and Rockwell transition into an operational capability."
GPS PNT Flexible Satellite,FA9453-14-M-0083,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149724.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Scott Francis,Chief Operating Officer,(571) 308-1417,scott.francis@azuresummit.com,"ABSTRACT: Azure Summit will develop concepts and architectures associated with a flexible, low-cost PNT satellite that improves GPS performance in challenged environments and provides additional space-based functionality. BENEFIT: Improved GPS performance in challenged environments and dramatically reduced system cost compared to existing GPS satellites."
On-Orbit Reprogrammable Digital Waveform Generator for GPS,FA9453-14-M-0110,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149999.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Jim King,Director,(571) 308-1400,jim.king@azuresummit.com,"ABSTRACT: In order to support changes in requirements for military and civilian GPS and other PNT systems, there is a need to update the signals transmitted from the space segment. In addition to this SBIR topic, the Air Force has also released a Broad Area Announcement seeking sources with capability to develop one. In Phase I, Azure Summit Technology, Inc. (Azure) proposes to show the feasibility of a digital signal generator module that provides at least five distinct, fully programmable signal chains applicable to the existing GPS space segment, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou systems, and future enhancements such as additional waveforms and modified navigation messages. In fact, our general purpose architecture allows for generating any of a large class signals by providing for reliable reprogramming of that segment of the module responsible for defining the signal chain parameters, as well as a goal of tuning the RF section to transmit at frequencies anywhere within L-band (1000-2000 MHz). BENEFIT: The benefit of the Azure technology developed during Phase I is a On Orbit Re-Programmable Digital Waveform Generator (ORDWG) architecture that provides for general purpose L-band navigation signal generation applicable to GPS, Galileo, and other navigation systems. The architecture supports both parametric adjustment of the signals on-orbit and total reprogramming of the FPGA that generates all of the data messages, codes, and performs all of the multiplexing and modulation."
"Positioning, Navigating, Timing, Communications, Architecture, Mission Design",FA9453-14-M-0114,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149984.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,"ABSTRACT: Azure Summit proposes to leverage ongoing work with DARPA and AFRL Kirtland using CubeSat constellations to mitigate intense SATCOM uplink jamming, and provide an interim asymmetric augmentation that effectively restores that link. This is the Theia concept. CubeSats can be rapidly developed and deployed, and Azure is developing a software-defined radio (SDR) CubeSat payload that can provide relatively low cost, user definable, and field upgradeable space missions. In this proposed effort, Azure will study all three of the described CONOPS for revolutionary PNT, and develop concepts for the Theia PNT system architecture, satellite payloads, and ground terminals needed to realize future experiments to demonstrate and quantify the improvements and benefits. We will consider how to merge these concepts and experiments into future Theia/Constellation space missions, as PNT may be considered to be simply another flexible mission for our software defined payload. BENEFIT: At the end of the Phase I Base effort, Azure will have performed a thorough study that develops one or more revolutionary architectures, algorithms, CubeSat satellite and payload concepts, and user equipment concepts for greatly augmented PNT in certain scenarios and user classes. In Phase II, we will begin to validate the chosen concepts, CONOPS, architectures, and equipment specifications in the real world. The ultimate objective with Theia/Constellation is to find a near-term launch opportunity (an Eagle Mission has been discussed) for a space-based experiment. We will then work with the Air Force and our partner network to find the best path forward to transitioning an operational capability for revolutionary PNT augmentation using Theia concepts and CubeSats."
Disruptive Military Navigation Architectures,FA9453-14-M-0125,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149989.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Scott Francis,Chief Operating Officer,(571) 308-1417,scott.francis@azuresummit.com,"ABSTRACT: Azure Summit Technology,Inc. (Azure) will develop OmniNAV, a modular, open-architecture navigation receiver that derives PNT solutions from a wide variety of signals and sensors. Unlike today""s military GPS receivers, OmniNAV software and firmware is field upgradable to deliver leading edge navigation technology to today""s and tomorrow""s warfighters. The Azure approach will heavily leverage technology from the commercial smart phone industry, as well as recent innovations from DARPA, to create a navigation receiver architecture that is exceptionally difficult to jam or spoof. BENEFIT: The benefits of Azure""s OmniNAV technology include an architecture that accommodates a wide variety of navigation sensors and signals, is exceedingly difficult to deny or deceive, includes a robust Information Assurance approach, with only modestly degraded performance due to the failure of a few sensors, readily integrates new sensors and applications in the future, and does so at a relatively modest cost. No new infrastructure is required to realize the benefits of OmniNAV. This technology should directly influence next generation military navigation receiver developments."
Low SWaP Wideband Digital Receiver/Exciter (DREX) for Multifunction AESA,N68335-14-C-0215,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,498004.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Jennifer Whitacre,Business Operations Manag,(571) 308-1405,jennifer.whitacre@azuresummit.com,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,"In this Phase II SBIR research, Azure Summit will leverage substantial prior work and experience in small Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) software defined radio and radar to create an important capability for a Sense and Avoid (SAA) radar for multiple platforms, including Triton and Fire Scout. Azure is working closely with RDRTec and NAVAIR to develop this DREX technology in conjunction with the overall Common Radar Autonomous Collision Avoidance System (RACAS), which will be the transition program for the developed DREX module products."
Security in Cyber-Physical Networked Systems,FA9453-14-M-0007,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,149955.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Mark Sullivan,Chief Scientist,(571) 308-1402,mark.sullivan@azuresummit.com,"ABSTRACT: A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a system that features a tight combination of, and coordination between, the system""s computational and physical elements. Today, a pre-cursor generation of cyber-physical systems can be found in areas as diverse as emerging and future combat systems, air-space-cyber activities, as well as smart buildings, bridges and other structures. CPS security must be fully understood and addressed before these types of systems can be fully trusted. Military CPS systems, in particular, are vulnerable to a variety of hostile RF attacks that include jamming, spoofing, and network intrusion. To improve robustness and security in CPS systems that utilize SATCOM as their wireless network, Azure Summit proposes to develop concepts and architectures for detecting, localizing, and mitigating RF attacks on the satellite communications portion of CPSs. Detection of these attacks is accomplished by analyzing the spatial signature of signals that arrive at the satellite and comparing them to pre-determined signatures. This Geo-Selective Authentication (GSA) enables the system to reject messages from rogue emitters that otherwise appear to be legitimate in every other way. BENEFIT: This effort will lead to improved security for military and commercial cyber-physical systems, particularly those that consist of a hybrid mixture of next-generation and legacy sensors and actuators."
Combined Approaches for Verification and Validation of Run Time Protected Systems,FA8650-14-M-2456,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,1,149981.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,John D. Schierman,Principal Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"Barron Associates has assembled a team of researchers that include Dr. Sayan Mitra of the University of Illinois and Dr. Ufuk Topcu of the University of Pennsylvania. They will spearhead three complimentary investigations into the development of verification and validation (V & V) approaches for adaptive systems protected by run time assurance (RTA) mechanisms. Two of these approaches involve using proof construction formalisms combined with guided simulation analyses to quickly determine unsafe or near-unsafe operating conditions. The third investigation will develop safety conditions that can be expressed in terms of linear temporal logic (LTL) specifications for a particularly important class of RTA systems involving multiple reversionary mode sequences so that the advanced system""s operating envelope is not limited. We will focus on two key areas in the V & V development: (a) the""switching condition""or the boundary between the safe and unsafe operating regions, and (b) the amount of""look ahead""time required to safely perform the process of switching to the reversionary system. Barron Associates will spearhead the application of the developed technologies to a challenge problem involving a fleet of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) with an RTA system protecting the fleet by determining when to activate certified collision avoidance protocols."
Robust Partial Authority MPC Architecture in Degraded Visual Environments,W911W6-14-C-0026,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2014,1,99962.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Jared K. Cooper,Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"Rotorcraft operations in a degraded visual environment, and particularly near the ground or other obstacles, can create a high risk of incident and reduce mission effectiveness. The lack of visual cues can create spatial disorientation and increases pilot workload. In a worst-case scenario the lack of visual cues may lead to spatial disorientation resulting in loss of the aircraft and flight crew. Recent surveys on helicopter survivability indicate that improved flight control laws are a key piece to mitigate aircraft loss and improve flight safety. To this end the Army has requested evaluation of a number of control architecture for the OH-58F Kiowa Warrior. Barron Associates will lead an experienced team to develop and assess modern control law designs within the specifications of the ADS-33E-PRF handling quality requirements. Key to our approach is extensive experience with receding horizon optimal and model predictive controllers and an integrated pilot-controller-vehicle simulation framework that will enable assessment of pilot-vehicle interactions early in the design cycle."
Game-Theory Enabled Radio Spectrum Management and Waveform Adaptation for Advanced Wideband Satellite Communications,FA9453-13-M-0156,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149941.00,"Cognitive Radio Technologies, LLC","147 Mill Ridge Rd, Suite 212",,Lynchburg,VA,24502-,No,No,No,James Neel,President,(434) 420-8055,james.neel@crtwireless.com,James Neel,President,(434) 420-8055,james.neel@crtwireless.com,"ABSTRACT: This project will identify feasible game-theoretical approaches for joint waveform adaptation, cognitive spectrum sensing & management in hierarchical spectrum sharing games with primary users, secondary users, persistent jammers and asymmetric information structures. Develop anti-jamming strategies by game-based means of frequency diversity, hybrid satellite-terrestrial networking & physical medium access layers BENEFIT: If successfully developed, the technology can potentially reduce technology risks in support of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite systems to provide worldwide, secure, survivable, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea, and air assets."
Automatic Concept Maps :asA and :inA Dynamic Wiki,N00014-14-P-1082,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79997.00,"Commonwealth Computer Research, Inc.","1422 Sachem Pl., Unit #1",,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,James Conklin,Director of Operations,(434) 214-4415,conklin@ccri.com,Kevin Corby,Software Architect,(434) 284-9406,kevin@ccri.com,"Representing knowledge in a triple store is trivial, yet querying and visualizing the resulting knowledge is difficult and inefficient when the number of triples is large. Needing to understand the data models from each of the contributing processes and how these data models overlap or interact further complicates this problem. Visualization tools for knowledge stored in the Resource Description Framework (RDF) tend to simply enable visualization of the data via a graph. While this does show the available data in a relatively intuitive manner, it simply does not scale. We will automatically identify intelligible, useful concepts that show how entities relate and expose undeclared relationships in the knowledge base. We will develop tools and techniques for concept generation to augment class/concept structures available from ontologies describing the knowledge store. We address the main problem in two steps: (1) feature selection, (2) analytics and visualization. This proposal describes our proposed methodology for extracting features of entities described in an RDF knowledge base, and the application of these features to automatic concept map generation. We propose to develop a scalable manifold learning algorithm for concept extraction that will also enable a broader application of machine learning algorithms to RDF data at scale."
Distributed Relational Learning for Cloud Data Fusion,N00014-14-P-1092,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79989.00,"Commonwealth Computer Research, Inc.","1422 Sachem Pl., Unit #1",,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,James Conklin,Director of Operations,(434) 214-4415,conklin@ccri.com,Nicholas Hamblet,Systems Engineer,(434) 284-9415,nhamblet@ccri.com,"The US military and intelligence community has been successfully fusing the data it gathers into actionable intelligence. However, the volume of data is increasing such that it cannot be processed on a single server, calling for distributed data fusion algorithms that operate across a cloud. As data grows to the point of requiring distributed storage, machine learning algorithms capable of producing situational awareness must rise to the challenge of working with distributed storage as well. The problem is to design distributed fusion algorithms which not only do as well as single-server solutions, but which leverage larger volumes of data to produce higher quality analytics. This proposal outlines an architecture that works with distributed data sources without needing data to be directly shared between compute nodes. Data fusion without shared memory is a difficult task; however we develop techniques to minimize the amount of information sent between nodes while maintaining high quality fusion. We propose to use models for which both model learning and inference can leverage distributed storage and computation. Inference should be fast and detached model instances readily deployable to local servers for real-time use, while maintaining data and model integrity with the cloud."
Intelligence Driven Intelligence Collection,N00014-14-C-0228,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,2,1223224.00,"Commonwealth Computer Research, Inc.","1422 Sachem Pl., Unit #1",,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,James Conklin,Director of Operations,(434) 214-4415,conklin@ccri.com,Kevin Corby,"Director, Data Science an",(434) 284-9406,kevin@ccri.com,"Natural language processing and semantic data modeling will be leveraged to assess and characterize IRs and predictions in order to support automated processing of the overall collection effort. For each IR, the system will identify the types of informat"
Automated Concept Map Elicitation (ACME),N00014-14-P-1080,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79999.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Jonathan Day,Senior Engineer Manager,(703) 414-5015,jonathan.day@dac.us,"Rapid response missions to remote, unknown areas are becoming a primary focus for U.S. military forces. These missions require time-sensitive development of intelligence from all available sources including open source data, historic imagery, and live collections. Capabilities currently exist to extract low-level information (i.e. entities, relationships, and actions) from these large scale data sources. However, most of the intelligence requirements that need to be fulfilled are of a high-level conceptual nature. The fulfillment of these intelligence requirements needs a system that can utilize the extracted low-level information and the context surrounding this information to provide concept-level knowledge generation. Therefore, DAC proposes to develop a system called Automated Concept Map Elicitation (ACME). The ACME system will be focused on providing users with a rapid, visual mechanism for developing situational awareness around a specific intelligence requirement. To provide this capability, the ACME system will be built to support the extraction of information stored across numerous ontologies, utilize automated clustering of entity nodes and relationships to simplify the developed concept maps, and include an intuitive visualization of concept maps based on knowledge pertinent to the specific intelligence requirement."
Resolving Independent Perspectives by Providing Learning-Enabled Enhanced Fusion For Elastic Cloud Technologies (RIPPLE-EFFECT),N00014-14-P-1095,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,80000.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Mark Frymire,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 414-5139,mark.frymire@dac.us,"To maintain situational awareness, analysts must sift through and fuse information across multiple documents, data sources, and modalities (text, imagery, and biometrics). The emergence of Big Data has placed an enormous burden on the analyst as the volume of data to examine has increased dramatically while the analyst""s capacity to understand and fuse information remains constant. Additionally, the data remains distributed across geographically separated systems with low-bandwidth connections. The analyst is presented with an incomplete data space from which to produce an intelligence picture. DAC proposes a system called Resolving Independent Perspectives by Providing Learning Enabled Enhance Fusion For Elastic Cloud Technologies (RIPPLE-EFFECT). RIPPLE-EFFECT provides a framework to fuse semantic enhancements from multiple vendors through the use of machine learning algorithms which infer correlations between both the semantic structure and the extracted semantic content. RIPPLE-EFFECT supports scalable cross-document inference over the semantically enhanced data space with dynamically evolving search patterns based on data encountered during the search and the semantic meaning behind the initial query. RIPPLE-EFFECT maintains a consistent data space and intelligence picture across geographically separated systems specialized to the area of interest and time period of interest for each system through lock-free continuous synchronization."
Automated PrOduct GEneration and Enrichment (APOGEE),N00014-14-C-0075,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,499943.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Timothy Hawes,Senior Engineer,(703) 414-5032,timothy.hawes@dac.us,"Creating information products to answer""Tell Me About""questions requires the ability to identify key pieces of information relevant to a complex set of information requirements. Complicating matters, these key pieces of information exist in multiple modalities scattered across data stores, buried in huge volumes of data. This results in the current predicament analysts find themselves; information retrieval and management consumes huge amounts of time that could be better spent performing analysis. The persistent growth in data accumulation rates will only increase the amount of time spent on these tasks without a significant advance in automated solutions for information product generation. We present Phase II of the Automated PrOduct GEneration and Enrichment (APOGEE) effort. APOGEE automates the creation of information products; learning the creation process by example. APOGEE can uses automatically constructed content models of fine-grained information requirements to retrieve mix-modal data for inclusion in products. This data is automatically filtered to eliminate redundancy and fused into an information product. APOGEE""s mixed-initiative user interface helps analysts rapidly produce finished information products in significantly less time than possible with existing tools and methodologies. This allows analyst to shift efforts from data management to analytic tasks."
Materials Ontology Design and Development (MODD),FA8650-14-M-5002,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Tim Hawes,Sr. Software Engineer I,(703) 414-5032,timothy.hawes@dac.us,"Semantically Linked Data is widely seen as a revolutionary approach for maximizing the usefulness of existing and future information. In the materials domain, semantically linked materials data holds considerable promise with the ability to facilitate materials research and product development, improve communication, and open up avenues for new types of materials informatics. But realizing the promise of Linked Data, requires establishing a meaningful vocabulary through which to describe concepts in the materials domain. The Materials Ontology Design and Development (MODD) effort is aimed at developing an ontology to realize the goals of linked data within the materials domain. As a direct result of Phase I research, the MODD ontology will link knowledge from a variety of existing materials databases. Additionally, because unstructured text, e.g. journal articles, contain large amounts of the available materials data MODD includes a relation extraction capability which can automatically structure this knowledge according to the ontology. Finally, because terminological variabilityin the vocabulary and in the datathreatens to hinder the utility of this project, we include automated capabilities for identifying and eliminating these types of variation. Combining these three capabilities, MODD will advance the state-of-the-art in materials information management with semantically linked materials data."
STUDENT (SimulaTion and UnDerstanding of EveNts in Text),FA8750-14-C-0020,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,149999.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Peter David,Senior Engineer,(703) 414-5009,peter.david@dac.us,"ABSTRACT: Although Natural Language Processing research has produced powerful techniques for parsing and data extraction, computers remain mostly oblivious to the meaning of the language they process. Computers cannot, in general, connect the words and phrases in language to a larger model of the world that permits reasoning about the implications of what is written or said. We propose an algorithm that analyzes text-based language data using a method of inference designed to match the way humans process and describe activities and events. Our approach to language understanding combines text with external knowledge encoded in a flexible and expressive structure called an X-net. X-nets, invented by DAC team member Dr. Srinivas Narayanan, act as abstract and computationally efficient simulation of activities, states, and events. Unlike other inference techniques, X-nets make it practical to perform inference on language describing complex, uncertain, and interrelated events that unfold over time. We will evaluate our text inference capability using the same evaluation measures used to assess reading comprehension in middle and high school. BENEFIT: If we are successful, the technology developed under this effort will represent a major step towards the development of algorithms that achieve human-like understanding of text. Computers will be able to find and react to language data based on its meaning and implications, rather than the surface form of the words used. Existing stores of language data will become enormously more valuable once we can extract information based on implications instead of key words. And general-purpose, meaning-aware language understanding algorithms will act as the foundation of a new generation of data analysis and human interaction tools. In Phase I of this project, we focus on understanding the language of the limited domain of disasters and disaster response. Humanitarian Aid / Disaster Relief (HADR) is important to many Government, NGO, and private organizations. The results of Phase I of this project will be immediately applicable to a number of our current and potential customers who need exploit text data generated from large-scale, rapidly evolving events such as natural disasters."
Pattern of Life Calculation from Big Graphs,N00014-14-P-1155,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79990.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191-,No,No,No,Gary Myers,"SVP, R&D",(703) 654-9359,gmyers@objectvideo.com,Narayanan Ramanathan,Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9300,nramanathan@objectvideo.com,"Pattern of Life characterization involves studying how people interact with the world around them on a daily basis: places they visit; people they interact with; actions they perform. Effective tracking of such patterns of life has direct implications to defense intelligence, cyber intelligence and corporate security. To solve this problem, ObjectVideo in collaboration with Dr. Leman Akoglu (Stony Brook), proposes to build a system that mines multiple data sources for relational information between people and places, detects anomalies and provides the tools to track the behaviors of anomalous entities. We will study patterns of life on four data domains: surveillance video, satellite imagery, text streams and non-traditional data sources such as weather feeds. We will use image / video analytics libraries to identify events from surveillance videos and detect change in satellite imagery. We will invoke Natural Language Processing tools to perform named entity recognition, entity resolution and relation estimation. Additionally, we will fit time-series models to weather feeds to study anomaly. We propose a unified graph representation to combine aforementioned data. Finally, we will invoke anomaly detection algorithms that scale up with large dynamically changing graphs and will build a visualization tool that helps analyst track anomalies."
"Optimizing Coating Processes and Chemistries for Enhanced Hot Section, Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) Life",FA8650-14-C-2433,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,749251.00,"Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc.",2 Boars Head Lane,,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Harry Burns,President&CEO,(434) 977-1405,harryburns@directedvapor.com,Susie Eustis,Research Scientist,(434) 977-1405,susie.eustis@directedvapor.com,"ABSTRACT: Environmental protection coatings are required to provide oxidation and hot corrosion protection to hot section turbine components. Unfortunately, the current generation of such coatings can degrade the fatigue resistance of the coated alloy. It is increasingly recognized that, due to the detrimental effect of the coating on low cycle fatigue (LCF) performance, the LCF life of a coated superalloy, not the stress/creep rupture strength, limit the design of a turbine component. As a result, the development of a new generation of environmental coatings optimized to not only provide oxidation and corrosion resistance, but also to limit any detriment to the fatigue performance of the alloy would greatly improve the current state-of-the-art. Thus, a strong need exists to develop novel environmentally protective coatings that are also relatively ductile and strong, as well as coating deposition processes that provide defect-free and dense microstructures. In this work, advanced environmental coating compositions having high strength and toughness will be developed and applied onto engine components using an advanced vapor deposition approach. Additionally, the use of thermodynamic modeling approaches will be used to enable the coating compositions to be chemical activity matched to minimize inter-diffusion with the underlying substrate and retain performance during service. BENEFIT: The development of a strong, fatigue resistant, environmental coating that matches the temperature capabilities of third- and fourth-generation Ni-base alloys will allow reduced cooling flow in airfoil designs providing improved overall engine efficiency/higher thrust designs and hence, reduced specific fuel consumption (SFC). It will also provide improved component durability. Payoffs with a 50°F temperature capability increase as sought in this program are considered to be highly significant by the gas turbine engine companies. Such an increase has been historically been achieved only after 10 to 15 years of extensive development effort in both design and material technologies. Several government and industry funded programs are aimed at developing turbines within the next ten years that will operate at firing temperatures about ~300°F higher than the current generation of high-performance gas turbines. Such temperature requirements can be significantly aided by reducing to fatigue debit of the current environmental protection coatings to enable the current generation of nickel-based superalloys to be used to their full capability. This will lead to turbine engine performance benefits in future gas turbine engines resulting in very significant SFC reductions. Civilian transportation and power generation sectors will be aided as well as air and sea based military vehicles."
"Hydration Tolerant, low Thermal Conductivity (K) Thermal Barrier Coatings",FA8650-14-C-2437,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,737480.00,"Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc.",2 Boars Head Lane,,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Harry Burns,President&CEO,(434) 977-1405,harryburns@directedvapor.com,Derek Hass,"Director, Research&Deve",(434) 977-1405,derekh@directedvapor.com,"ABSTRACT: Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are currently employed to protect gas turbine engine components. Thermally exposed TBC systems have been observed to be affected by moisture. This spallation mechanism, Moisture Induced Delayed Spallation (MIDS), occurs at room temperature while the coatings are not exposed to the thermal-mechanical inputs that typically drive TBC failure. Future TBC systems will benefit from improved TBC reliability which can be achieved by development of an advanced high temperature protective coating system designed to improve, among other characteristics, the durability of coating in the presence of moisture. In Phase I, DVTI demonstrated TBC systems which included modification of the TBC elastic modulus, incorporation of an advanced TBC bond coat having an improved CTE mismatch between the bond coat and the TGO, reduced TGO growth rates and also modifications to TBC top coats which potentially limit access of moisture into the bond coat. In Phase II, based on positive effects shown in Phase I, these enhanced coating properties will be more fully developed into an advanced TBC system which will then be systematically varied to create an analytical model which explores the effects of these elements on the reliability of TBC systems subject to moisture exposure. BENEFIT: This research is anticipated to result in thermal barrier coating systems with enhanced resistance to hydration induced coating failure and thus improved reliability. Development of advanced TBC coating systems using DVD processing techniques will not only enable new TBC coating systems that will meet the needs of current and future engines used in military aircraft, it will also enable low cost deposition of these coatings. The DVD deposition technique enables coatings not previously possible with existing processing approaches. DVD coaters can be small with low capital costs and tailorable volumes so that small volumes of parts can still be coated at low cost. The high deposition rates of DVD and the soft vacuum required (with quick pump down times) can provide nearly assembly line like part coating. These features also facilitate quick and easy repair options at repair depots. It is also envisioned that a single piece of equipment could be used to deposit the entire TBC system (both bond coat and top coat) in a single step. DVD""s compositional and morphological flexibility also enables other advanced TBC systems and other functional coating such as those for erosion protection, hot corrosion resistance and environmental barrier coatings."
High-Performance Magnesium Alloys and Composites by Efficient Vapor Phase Processing,W911NF-14-P-0025,DOD,ARMY,STTR,2014,1,149720.00,"Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc.",2 Boars Head Lane,,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Harry Burns,President&CEO,(434) 977-1405,harryburns@directedvapor.com,Derek Hass,"Director, Research&Development",(434) 977-1405,derekh@directedvapor.com,"The low density of magnesium makes it of interest for the development of advanced materials having high specific strength and stiffness. Current Mg applications, however, are limited by the performance and cost/quality relationships of existing Mg-alloy systems. One approach to obtain improved Mg alloys is through the development of new alloys and/or Mg-based composite materials that are enabled through the use of vapor phase processing routes. For example, high quality Mg matrix composites can be created by coating individual reinforcing fibers and then consolidating them into materials having enhanced properties. The use of vapor co-evaporation techniques for the formation of novel non-equilibrium alloys is also of interest. For manufacturing routes of this type to be viable, scalable vapor production processes which have suitable energy efficiencies and cost effectiveness are required. In this work, a novel gas jet assisted vapor deposition approach using a moderate vacuum is explored as a means for the creation of well intermixed Mg-alloy vapors which can be condensed in a highly efficient manner as monolithic alloys or onto fiber based substrates. Prototype production scale processing equipment is employed to determine the scalability factors for materials processing via this route and enable characterization of the resulting materials."
Joint Processing of Multi-band Signals with Information Assurance,FA9453-14-C-0029,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,748194.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technical Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge proposes to prototype and evaluate GNSS processing algorithms designed to provide high accuracy and spoofing robustness (information assurance (IA)) by exploiting diversity in radio navigation signals (frequency, location, bandwidth, format) using new signal processing techniques. We will extend on-going work in the area of multi-satellite, multi-frequency GNSS signal processing with novel and original algorithms to improve navigation performance. In addition Echo Ridge will apply a unique and highly processing efficient vector tracking algorithm which will improve robustness against GPS outages and multipath effects. The developed algorithms will be evaluated using a hardware-in-the-loop RF environment emulator, capable of synthesizing arbitrary signals both at digital baseband and at RF. In addition a characterization of performance will be carried out in realistic emulated and field propagation environments which include fading, multipath, and interference. BENEFIT: Commercialization opportunities for the subject navigation technology are numerous in the commercial location sector, the public services, and the DoD sectors. In the public sector, emergency first responder personnel lack a robust location system which hampers search and rescue operations. There are also equally compelling needs in the commercial sector, where wireless mobiles equipped with GPS for E911 positioning suffer from very poor yield indoors and in dense urban areas, even with""assisted-GPS""augmentations. The last few years have witnessed explosive growth for revenue-bearing location-based navigation technology and applications, all of which suffer from poor performance for the same reasons and ultimately cost companies in lost potential revenue. One of the most promising developments that will aid in bringing the subject research technology to broad commercial use is the increase in portable computing devices that now contain built-in GNSS and subsystems such as GPS, in addition to accelerometers, gyroscopes, WiFi, and multi-band radio frequency transceivers. Hosting robust navigation technology on COTS hardware has never been more appealing and cost effective, which greatly increases the chances of transitioning this technology into a commercialization success."
Secure Time delivery Military GPS receivers in challenged RF environments using existing wireless infrasructure,FA9453-14-M-0074,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149970.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge and partner Rockwell Collins propose to quantify and demonstrate the value of existing tactical and commercial wireless communications signals in providing time aiding to MGUE. The primary results of the Phase I effort will be a comprehensive trade space analysis, off-air verification of absolute time-related statistics for selected signals, the development and demonstration of prototype algorithms showing achievable time accuracy and trustworthiness, and a preliminary design for supplying time aiding to a Rockwell Collins MGUE. The demonstration of the prototype algorithms and achievable time aiding accuracy will be based in part on prior funded research in using Signals of Opportunity (SoOPs) to improve PNT performance. This original work merges Simultaneous Localization and Mapping algorithms (SLAM) (modified to use RF landmarks) and vector tracking techniques with algorithms which synthetically synchronize imprecise and noisy disparate source/device clocks to generate PNT from non-navigation signals. We will extend this work to include not only relative time/frequency/range estimations, but also absolute (UTC) time as derived from one or multiple sources. BENEFIT: GPS receivers (including MGUE) are becoming ubiquitous in modern devices, systems and networks; including using their time output for synchronization in multiple applications. In many cases, GPS receivers operate in challenging environments where GPS operation/acquisition is impaired/denied. If accurate time could be supplied to the GPS receiver, it may be able to operate in the challenging environment including reducing the time to first fix and direct P(Y) acquisition. One approach to operation in challenging environments is time aiding produced from commercial and tactical communications infrastructures. Ideally, acceptably accurate and authenticated absolute time could be made available as a service. There are many advantages to this approach. In general, environments include multiple commercial and/or tactical communications signals, many of which have universal time broadcasts. This research will provide insight into the achievable absolute time transfer accuracy, and associated trust worthiness."
Improved AFSCN FCT Simulator,FA9453-14-M-0146,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149983.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge and team partner AirIn Technologies propose to develop an innovative, low-cost satellite testing system which provides functionality of the TSTR and RBC TSTR electronics and is compatible with the AFSCN. The system will feature state of the art COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) software-defined radio technology and high-speed digital computing to significantly reduce cost and physical size compared to the current TSTR system. Furthermore, the team offers to enhance satellite testing operations by including an enhanced variation of Echo Ridge""s previously developed DYSE RF environment emulation system to provide novel real-time RF link emulation during simulated pre-launch, launch, and orbit operations between ground stations and satellites. This enhancement could significantly de-risk satellite operations by subjecting communications links to realistic propagation phenomena that will be experienced during actual operations. BENEFIT: Large scale US government system of system test infrastructures are being defined which may not adequately address many of the inefficiencies seen with today""s TSTR solutions. These shortcomings could be avoided by leveraging the Improved AFS (IAFS) SDR-Cloud architecture implementation approach described in this proposal. Similarly, in the commercial wireless world, there is optimism that SDR-cloud architectures offer the potential to reduce cost by reducing the number of required radio resources through pooling HW and SW and managing resource allocation and sharing. As with the IAFS, advantages in power consumption, security, maintenance and software licensing costs, scalability, etc., results in lower overall operational expenses which make the approach attractive. The developed approach is well suited as test requirements must often address as yet undefined needs or provide as-yet undefined capabilities. Thus the IAFS approach offers a way to""future-proof""against moving requirements as well as a way to seamlessly on-ramp emerging technology."
Electronic Warfare: EMS Monitor&Broadcast Training Capacity Enhancement,FA8650-14-M-1830,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,149991.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge proposes to develop a suite of EW training tools to support realistic warfighter training in the congested and contested RF environments expected in future operational engagements. The tools consist of an opposing force broadcast capability, an EMS monitoring capability and an analytical framework for configuring and scoring the behavior of the tools and participating warfighters. The broadcast device is based on our existing fielded Wideband Instrumented Streaming Platform (WISP) product. The EMS monitoring device is based on our in-development 2nd generation Handheld Signal Processor (HASP). Our SAIJ software application (Software Architecture for Intelligent Jamming) will run on the HASP platform, and provide the EMS monitoring capability enabling automated spectrum monitoring, analysis and characterization. We will use the SAIJ open architecture features to incorporate cyclostationary signal processing (CSP) spectrum detection and analysis signal processing software. Given the extensive re-use of previously Government sponsored R & D, we propose to perform risk reduction testing as part of Phase I for key functions for broadcast and EMS monitoring nodes in a realistic laboratory environment using Echo Ridge's DYnamic Spectrum Environment emulator (DYSE) test asset. BENEFIT: The results of the proposed research will benefit the EW training community by providing cost effective and realistic EW training tools. It will allow EW-related training exercises to include emulated opposing force broadcasts, and warfighters to train using tools that address modern electronic communications technologies. It will also create a new analytic framework for quantitatively evaluating EW scenarios. This framework will be useful to the training community as well as the broader EW community. Given the open architecture and COTS basis for the developed nodes, they will be useful in transitioning new EW technologies from the laboratory to the field."
Multi-layer Ever-changing Self-defense Service (MESS) CRPP,D14PC00224,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2014,2,99994.91,Endeavor Systems,8300 Greensboro Drive,Suite 600,McLean,VA,22102-3604,Yes,No,No,Payal Tak,President and CEO,(571) 267-2937,Payal.Tak@telesishq.com,Yusef Pogues,,(571) 267-2921,yusef.pogue@telesishq.com,"Today's static IT systems allow adversaries time to plan and launch attacks. Endeavor proposes a Multi-layer, Ever changing, Self-defense Service
(MESS) that is resilient and manageable. MESS prevents attackers from exploiting a target system by removing the static network & system attributes
that simplify reconnaissance. Continuously refreshing the target system to a new virtual instance with a known trusted state and random service
attributes, this limited-time-use virtual instance is comprised of a single application and OS combination and reduces system complexity.
During Phase II, Endeavor will develop an application that will build on our successful Phase I MESS prototype. This application focuses on protecting
web services, including web content delivery. Today, web security products detect and block attacks by enforcing acceptable use policies, and analyzing
web traffic, content, etc. Powered by MESS allows multi-layer protections by deploying public interface obfuscation and live service migration
technique. It conceals the public interface from adversaries and enables web services to self-defend and self-recover. application is a game-changing
cyber defense system, not by detecting, but by concealing; not by blocking, but by cleaning.
By Phase II completion, application will handle high traffic volume and multiple simultaneous connections, and be ready for the pilot/field test.
Endeavor will work with clients and partners like DHS, Air Force, and McAfee to outline a pilot/field test plan. We'll develop a market plan for SaaS
providers who can benefit directly from application as they have large attack surfaces and extensive virtualized infrastructure."
Auxetic Textiles for Improved Blast / Ballistic Protection,N00014-14-C-0034,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,2,586778.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Michael Pruzan,"Director, Contracts",(540) 769-8430,submissions302@lunainc.com,Bryan Koene,"Director, Advanced Materi",(540) 769-8400,koeneb@lunainc.com,"Luna Innovations, teamed with University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth has developed a novel textile technology to provide improved protection for soldiers. Soldiers are exposed to significant risk of injury and death from gun shots and blasts from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Whereas heavy protective armor exists, it is bulky leading to thermal discomfort, additional weight, and difficulty in maneuvering. Lightweight armor, on the other hand, often does not have the level of protection required for ballistic and blast protection. Auxetic textiles have demonstrated a remarkable enhancement in mechanical properties due to the ability to thicken in all dimensions when exposed to high shear impact stress rather than thin out as with conventional woven textiles. These novel textiles can absorb and disperse energy extremely well for added protection from ballistic and blast threats. Our team utilizes a novel auxetic warp knit structure that has demonstrated higher air / moisture permeability and flexibility compared with traditional woven aramids for improved comfort. Luna""s team will exploit recent advances in this area with years of experience in auxetic textile development to provide lightweight protective garments with superior ballistic and blast protection and added comfort for higher user acceptability."
Identification of Material Damage Precursors Using Novel NDE and/or SHM Hardware,W911QX-13-C-0162,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2014,1,100000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Gheorge Bunget,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2504,bungetg@lunainc.com,"Widespread damage in aging aircraft is becoming an increasing concern as both civil and military fleet operators are extending the service lifetime of their aircraft and increasing risk of crack-like damage of aircraft components. The scientific community found that fatigue damage initiation occurs at micro-features called fatigue damage precursors (FDP). This requires that fatigue crack growth analyses address the influence of usage on FDP and eventual macro-scale crack growth. Predicting the exact fatigue life is a difficult process and fatigue life prediction based on crack length measurements can be grossly inaccurate. In addition, the appearance of these cracks typically occurs very late in fatigue life under high cycle fatigue conditions. Thus, to improve remaining useful life prediction of structural components the study of FDP is critical. In order to address this need, Luna is teaming with Arizona State University to develop advanced ultrasonic and eddy current evaluation techniques with potential application for structural health monitoring. The proposed method is based on using multi-scale modeling with combined linear and nonlinear ultrasonic parameters and eddy current measurements of electrical properties to predict the damage state and remaining service life of aircraft structural components."
Smart Anti-Tamper Conformal Coating System for Electronic Circuits,N00024-14-P-4039,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Adam Goff,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2513,goffa@lunainc.com,"Critical Technology (CT) lies within a variety of electronic circuits across US Navy weapon platforms and must be adequately protected from theft and unintentional transfer. Traditional protective hardware enclosures are bulky, require power, and require special thermal considerations because they are typically insulating. Luna proposes a simplified alternative in the form of a conformal coating system that will provide comprehensive protection of CT against tamper events including X-ray imaging, SEM, focused ion beam, IR imaging, and power analysis attacks. The full coating system will be engineered to have high thermal conductivity sufficient to enable rapid heat transport from underlying devices through the coatings and out to traditional heat sinks. The anti-tamper coating system will enable coating integrity monitoring via the underlying electronic circuit such that physical damage and electromagnetic tamper events may be assessed on the fly and CT rapidly removed from the system. The Phase I program will focus on demonstration of the coating system to delay/prevent tamper events and corresponding threat detection capabilities. The coatings will be optimized during the Phase II and a monitoring sensor system will be integrated with target electronic circuits/components to provide a suite of protection and real-time monitoring capabilities to the end-user."
Low Cost Autonomous Coating Condition Monitoring System,N00024-14-C-4016,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,729810.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainc.com,"Tanks and enclosures were named the top corrosion expense on Navy vessels, accounting for $204 M in annual direct costs. To control these costs, there is a need for an automated monitoring system to assess coating damage and cathodic protection (CP) system performance. During the Phase II program, Luna proposes to complete a prototype coating condition monitoring system (CCMS) suitable for submarine applications. The CCMS will be designed for manufacturability and ease of installation, and will provide reliable, long service life operation at a low cost. The health monitoring system will output a direct pass/fail measurement of coating damage, damage location, estimated remaining service life, and CP system condition. The monitoring system will be based on Luna""s product line of ultralow power sensor systems used for asset monitoring and equipment diagnostics. These devices have embedded processors with diagnostic firmware that translates sensor data into quantitative actionable information for maintainers. The monitoring system will be developed using physical scale tank models and then demonstrated in full scale seawater ballast tanks at a Navy laboratory."
Preservation Matrix for Improved Biological Specimen Storage and Recovery,D14PC00010,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,2,1000000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Blaine Butler,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2509,butlerb@lunainc.com,"The ability to rapidly detect and identify infectious organisms is critical for the accurate diagnosis of seasonal and sporadic outbreaks, emerging pathogens and agents of bioterrorism. Accurate detection requires high quality biological specimens, which"
Encapsulation Technology for Increased Environmental Stability of Vertebrate Cells,W9132T-14-C-0016,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2014,2,528095.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Blaine Butler,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2509,butlerb@lunainc.com,"Luna Innovations is developing stabilization technology for increased long-term storage of various biological moieties (e.g. enzymes, nucleic acids, and whole cells). This unique stabilization matrix allows for extended cell viability lifetime, minimizing cell maintenancerequirements while retaining physiological activity. The proposed encapsulated cell technology has been shown to provide significant improvements in cell lifetime, operational stability, with decreased maintenance requirements, and is easily integrated into a variety of sensing based platforms allowing for optical and/or electrical reporting metrics. During Phase I Luna demonstrated stable long-term cell viability with enhanced environmental stability for a variety of cell lines, including over 50 days for the fragile bovine lung microvessel endothelial cell line when stored at room temperature in ambient air. Phase II will focus on extending the cell viability and function for an increased variety of cell types while also working to integrate the stabilization technology into a microfluidic chip for incorporation into the SafePort water analysis system."
Distributed Fiber Optic Temperature Sensing for Bleed Air Leak Detection,FA8650-14-M-2493,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Senior Contracts Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions301@lunainc.com,Emily Horrell,Principal Investigator,(540) 769-8400,horrelle@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Luna proposes to design, build, and test a novel leak detection system for the bleed air lines found on advanced tactical aircraft. The proposed leak detection system is based on Luna""s distributed sensing technology, and is capable of detecting and precisely localizing leaks and other temperature events that occur along in the bleed air lines. More than just an alarm system, the proposed technology will provide distributed temperature measurements throughout the aircraft during flight and on the ground, enabling the Air Force to build profiles of expected temperature during typical missions, and look for deviations that may indicate a failure is about to occur. In portions of the aircraft where the temperature is often elevated during flight, Luna""s sensing system will provide data that can be used to eliminate false positive alarms while also assessing temperature-related degradation to critical components housed within those compartments, extending the time needed between servicing or replacement. When a leak occurs, Luna""s leak detection system will provide information on the location, magnitude, and duration of the leak, information that is vital during damage assessment. BENEFIT: Air Force Applications: Luna anticipates that the technology developed during this SBIR will be directly applicable for detection of leaks in bleed air lines on board aircraft, not just the F35. In addition, robust, high resolution distributed temperature sensing will find a range of applications on board aircraft, from monitoring the temperature in the cargo bay to maintaining desired temperature levels near critical instruments. In addition, the miniaturization and ruggedization that will occur as part of this effort will advance Luna""s distributed sensing technology, both temperature sensing and strain sensing, bringing distributed fiber optic structural health monitoring to the Air Force. Commercial Applications: Most commercial and private aircraft have bleed air lines as well. As they strive for more fuel efficiency and longer flights, Luna""s leak detection system will allow their technology to push the design envelope forward. In addition, distributed temperature sensing has applications in industrial chemical processing, nuclear industries, thermodynamics testing, and model verification."
Design Tool and Standard Characterization Method for Improved Aircraft Corrosion Resistance and Life Cycle Management,FA8650-14-M-5062,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: The annual cost of corrosion for Air Force aircraft and missiles is estimated to be $5.4 billion with corrosion accounting for 32.2% of the maintenance budget. The inability to define corrosion resistance during the design process and to test for corrosion performance at the operational level make including corrosion as part of a performance-based acquisition difficult. There is a recognized need for a predictive tool that can be used to assess the corrosion resistance of aircraft designs. To meet these needs, the Luna team proposes to develop comprehensive design tools and standard characterization methods to model atmospheric corrosion of aircraft structures. The design tool will leverage BEASY USA Corrosion Management Software and Luna corrosion test and measurements systems. This comprehensive approach will provide the Air Force with corrosion resistance modeling software, a material performance database, a protocol for materials performance characterization, and a measurement system for model validation. The Phase I effort will demonstrate multi-scale modeling and finite element mesh superposition methods to obtain spatially resolved estimates of potential and corrosion rate for time dependent predictions of corrosion damage based on specific environmental usage spectra. BENEFIT: A successful development effort will result in a design tool for modeling aircraft structures and predicting corrosion in specific service environments. The technology will be useful for establishing corrosion resistance requirements during the acquisition process, developing sustainment plans based on anticipated usage, and predicting corrosion damage based on actual usage. The system will reduce sustainment costs, increase readiness, and reduce the risk of corrosion with regard to meeting aircraft design life objectives. The technology would have value to a wide range of DoD and civil infrastructure assets along with commercial products. The initial customer for the corrosion resistance model, polarization cell, and validation test element is the AFRL Corrosion IPT and broader Air Force corrosion and sustainment community. The most immediate market opportunities will be within the Air Force and DoD aviation corrosion research communities to test aircraft materials and predict component performance. Besides early adopters in the aviation community, other DoD applications would include ships, ground vehicles, and support equipment. Commercial industries that would benefit from improved atmospheric corrosion resistant designs include transportation (automotive/aerospace/shipping) and infrastructure (coastal and offshore structures)."
Multi-Parameter Environmental Chamber with Smart Sensing Technology for Development of Next Generation Accelerated Corrosion Tests,FA8650-14-M-5068,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Improved performance and environmental compliance continues to drive coating development. The acceptance of emerging coatings for aircraft structures is accomplished through extensive property testing that includes accelerated corrosion and service environment exposure testing. Current accelerated corrosion test methods using standard environmental chambers do not accurately simulate damage modes that are relevant to field failures and structural integrity and do not generate data that can be used to understand material interactions, corrosion processes, and relative performance of coatings and inhibitors to control different corrosion damage mechanisms. To address this critical need an environmental test chamber that more accurately replicates field conditions, by allowing for control of temperature, relative humidity, irradiation, gas and salt concentrations, and cyclic mechanical loading will be assembled. Recently developed measurement systems capable of continuous multimodal sensing of environmental parameters, corrosion, and coating performance will be utilized in the chamber to generate sufficient data to establish significant interactions between applied environmental conditions. Critical conditions determined will be used to develop an improved accelerated corrosion test protocol for the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) community to utilize for coating evaluations as part of comprehensive corrosion protection and control plans. BENEFIT: A successful product development effort will result in a multi-parameter environmental test chamber with sensing capabilities to quantify corrosion damage and an improved accelerated corrosion test protocol. This system will more accurately predict corrosion performance of material systems in service environments. Although the test chamber will be specifically tailored for use by Air Force personnel for testing material systems for aircraft structures, similar test chambers would be applicable for use in other Military material test laboratories. The environmental test chamber would be valuable to numerous industries that develop corrosion resistant materials, qualify products based on corrosion performance, or manage structures based on estimates of corrosion damage."
Autonomous Hydraulic Actuator Health Monitoring System for Enhanced Condition Based Maintenance,N00024-14-P-4501,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,80000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Nathan Brown,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2501,nbrown@lunainc.com,"Virginia class submarines feature 134 hydraulic actuators critical to operational readiness. Currently, hydraulic actuators are overhauled on a time-based schedule as part of 600 series work, regardless of usage or condition. Superfluous hydraulic actuator maintenance results in extended inoperability, increased costs, and may introduce failures from improper service or reinstallation. An automated method for monitoring hydraulic actuator health would facilitate condition based monitoring to decrease machinery overhauls, depot durations, and total ownership costs while improving fleet availability and extending component life-cycles. To meet this critical need, Luna proposes to develop a non-obtrusive, ultra low-power, wireless system comprised of vibration, flow, pressure, and temperature sensors to monitor hydraulic actuator health and provide actionable information at the sensing node. By converting raw data into maintenance instructions, the hydraulic actuator health monitoring system will have the ability to diagnose common failure mechanisms, including leakage, contamination, and excess friction or binding. The system will have the capability to wirelessly transmit in real-time, autonomously record data to embedded memory, and will require minimal retrofit implementation modifications. Finally, the system will be ruggedized to withstand the operating environment with considerations including temperature, vibration, and environmental effects."
Advanced Submarine Monitoring using a Self-Powered Condition-Based Monitoring System with Improved Diagnostics and Prognostics,N00024-14-P-4514,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,80000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Kevin Farinholt,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2508,farinholtk@lunainc.com,"Condition-based monitoring has the potential to significantly reduce operating costs for the U.S. Navy through enhanced maintenance scheduling and reduction in unnecessary inspections / overhauls. Embedded sensors provide monitoring capabilities for data acquisition, analysis and transmission when sufficient power is available through hardwired power, battery, or energy harvesting strategies. There has been a recent surge in research for sensor nodes powered by energy harvesters, however most applications are limited to low-frequency, low-bandwidth applications. There is significant interest in developing new sensing concepts that provide continuous monitoring of high-frequency transient events associated with pump cavitation and bearing impacts within the U.S. Navy. Luna proposes to develop a new paradigm in how embedded sensors are designed and deployed with energy harvesting / management as a central design component. The proposed approach re-evaluates how sensor nodes are developed identifying functionalities that require (1) direct power from the harvester, or (2) accumulated power for high energy tasks, and uses the data itself to drive which components are activated from a multi-tiered energy source that is powered by a multi-source energy harvesting subsystem. This comprehensive design approach will target monitoring rates in the tens to hundreds of kilohertz while operating on energy harvested power budgets."
Extreme Environment Stress and Strain Sensing System,FA8650-14-C-2529,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,739583.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions301@lunainc.com,Matt Davis,Principal Investigator,(540) 558-1696,davism@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Luna has demonstrated the feasibility of a high speed extreme environment stress and strain measurement system operating at temperatures>900°C (1652°F) and streaming static and dynamic data at 2.5MHz. During Phase I Luna also demonstrated the system's ability to measure a 26 & #61549; & #61541;/10Hz AC component on top of a larger 1.2% strain component. The proposed Phase II effort will optimize the data acquisition system and sensors to meet the performance requirements of the Air Force in a delivered prototype. The complete system will consist of multichannel readout electronics, extreme environment transducers, and robust, easily fieldable methods of attachment for both metallic and a composite substrates. Accurate high temperature strain measurements are critical in the development and characterization of modern aerospace materials and verification of vehicle and component performance models. These models are used to determine design parameters and material selection for high speed flight vehicles and component life prediction. Currently there is no suitable technology capable of providing accurate strain data in the presence of both high temperatures and large loads. This Phase II project will develop a prototype system that will be transitioned to the Air Force, commercial aerospace, and automotive industry partners during Phase III. BENEFIT: The proposed system will meet the Air Force""s needs for an extreme environment strain measurement system capable of providing accurate static and dynamic data at high speeds. Other agencies such as NASA, DARPA, and the Navy which are performing research on extreme environment materials and systems will also benefit from the technology developed during this program. The system and sensors will enable high temperature, extreme load data to be taken in the presence of high electro-magnetic fields to verify turbine and scramjet engine performance, composite heat shield material characterizations, and airframe dynamic response. These capabilities will also make the system desirable to airframe and engine OEM""s to enable performance monitoring and qualification testing which will improve the safety and reliability of commercial transportation. Specifically, Luna has been approached by the automotive industry inquiring about a system with similar needs. In addition to safety improvements through improved material selection and design, the system will enable structural health monitoring and the collection of remaining useful life data which will reduce maintenance overall ownership costs of commercial transports. Luna will work with its commercial partners to complete civilian qualifications and begin marketing the technology for commercial applications during the Phase II & III efforts."
Ultra-Low Temperature Elastomeric Seals for Aerospace Hydraulic Systems,FA8650-14-C-5011,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,749993.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Rob Klein,Principal Investigator,(434) 250-2517,kleinr@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) operating on high altitude long endurance (HALE) operation can cause sections of the aircraft to experience temperatures as low as -100°F. This is particularly damaging to the landing gear hydraulics and wheels. Critical low-temp weak points within the landing gear are the elastomeric O-ring seals. The simplest approach is to replace existing seals with new low-temperature elastomer seals in the same form factors. During the course of the Phase I effort, the team formulated and cast prototypes of a new elastomer seal as a -214 size O-ring. Glass transition temperature, thermal retraction (TR-10), low-temp tensile, fluid exposure to hydraulic fluids (MIL-PRF-87257, MIL-PRF-5606), and lab-scale hydraulic testing indicate the Luna O-ring performed well down to -100°F under static conditions and -70°F under dynamic conditions while exposed to hydraulic fluid. During the proposed Phase II, the team will optimize the seal formulation, scale up production to large-scale, evaluate seals per relevant specifications, validate seal performance in system level testing, and continue to work towards commercialization of the technology. Luna and team members will work closely with the part OEMs, platform OEMs, maintainers, and end users to replace the existing seals on form/fit/function levels. BENEFIT: The first product for this technology would be seals to be integrated into UAV platforms as drop-in replacements. These seals would be cost effective and provide enhanced capabilities, specifically the capability to operate at HALE conditions with no leakage. This would enhance the capabilities of the UAVs by removing limitations on HALE flights, as well as reducing the risk of damage during landing. Testing will be performed to ensure that the seals meet the relevant ASTM, SAE, and MIL specifications. Once established, this new seal technology could be used for multiple other platforms, both military and civilian. Other markets include the larger aerospace market (other aircraft); space (missiles, rockets); oil drilling and pumping equipment; and specialty chemical processing equipment (low temperature, harsh conditions, etc.)."
Self-Healing Coatings for Corrosion Protection of Aluminum Components,FA8650-14-C-5013,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,749997.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Benjamin Beck,Principal Investigator,(540) 961-4506,beckb@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: There is a need to identify, qualify, and certify post-repair corrosion-inhibiting self-healing coatings in order to inhibit further corrosion on aluminum substrates. Many technologies have been developed in academia and industry to reliably identify visible and hidden corrosion on aluminum surfaces and components, restore lost coating material, or create a barrier to future corrosion. The research team at Luna Innovations Incorporated has developed a comprehensive system for the corrosion protection of aerospace components. Luna""s self-healing and anti-corrosion additives can be applied in both solvent and water-borne primers and we have a strong relationship with established paint manufacturers to meet MIL-SPEC requirements. Luna""s coating system is compatible with CPC""s used in Air Force coating tech orders and it proven to be suitable for aerospace aluminum alloys. By working closely with an aircraft maintenance consulting group, Luna has been able to address potential issues as identified by Depot and Air Force customers, as well as validate that the coating materials and application methods for sustained corrosion protection on war-fighting systems will be user-friendly, portable, financially viable, and reliable BENEFIT: The total annual US cost estimates for corrosion related expenses are in excess of $300 billion, or 3.1% of the GDP. Much of the costs are associated with the maintenance of metal materials; 20% of the estimated corrosion-related costs involve scraping and repainting steel structures. A self healing coating will be beneficial to any industry sector that suffers from corrosion, such as infrastructure, transportation, utilities, and production and manufacturing. A durable, thermally stable, autonomous self healing corrosion protection coating will increase serviceable lifetime, reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies. Chrome-free coating systems will also provide an environmentally conscious solution to corrosion."
Integrated Aircraft Sensor Network for Real Time Leak Detection,FA8501-14-P-0008,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Aircraft damage resulting from environmental exposure and fluid leaks constitute a major portion of the costs associated with aircraft repairs and lead to significantly reduced mission readiness. The ability to identify contaminant exposure within airframes and inform maintenance personnel of leaks, corrosive environments, and chemical contaminants in difficult to access areas will allow for enhanced condition based maintenance, reducing costs and increasing aircraft availability. In order to provide the Air Force with increased visibility into airframe contamination, Luna proposes to develop a wireless network of intelligent sensors for real time characterization of environmental exposure coupled with next generation aircraft maintenance tracking tools for an end-to-end solution. The system will provide meaningful information to the aircraft maintenance crew by combining Luna""s flight tested sensor suite to measure and identify contaminants that can lead to corrosion damage with the ICARR-3D point of maintenance corrosion management tool pioneered by our development partner Mercer Engineering Research Center. The Phase I effort will focus on developing a reliable wireless sensor system integrated with advanced off-aircraft maintenance tools. A technology integration plan will be developed and the Phase I effort will conclude with a comprehensive demonstration of the real time leak detection system. BENEFIT: Corrosion and contaminant related damage costs the military and commercial aircraft operators billions of dollars each year in associated inspection and maintenance. The system developed under this effort will allow maintainers to locate contamination issues within an airframe in a timely manner and focus their efforts on correcting these conditions, rather than identifying leaks and subsequent damage at scheduled inspection intervals. By identifying contamination when it occurs, labor and costs to remediate the contamination and effect repairs will be reduced and aircraft availability will increase. Furthermore, a system that identifies the level, location, and type of contamination will allow maintainers to identify faults associated with leaks, broken seals, and other component failures that degrade aircraft safety and performance. The benefits gained by both military and commercial aircraft operators will allow for increased asset availability and reliability with minimal upfront installation investments."
Quantitative Gun Barrel Diagnostics with Remote Field Eddy Currents and Artificial Intelligence,FA8501-14-P-0041,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Gheorghe Bunget,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2504,bungetg@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Gun barrels have a variety of failure modes that must be monitored over the life of a barrel. Fatigue cracking is one of the most critical failure modes and can result in catastrophic barrel rupture if not detected and addressed. Currently, there is no existing NDI method or equipment to assess fatigue cracking within the barrel wall. Luna""s proposed technique has the advantage of automated inspection using compact and portable hardware that can deployed on a flight line without need to remove barrels from the aircraft. Present eddy current inspection techniques rely on highly trained personnel to visually inspect and interpret test data, with human error serving as the primary drawback in using eddy currents to inspect the health of tubes. The automation of eddy current analysis and flaw sizing is very important in this research effort. Luna""s proposed technique makes use of artificial intelligence to classify the eddy current signals and to recognize disruptive variables such as variation in microstructure (magnetic permeability, electrical conductivity), lift-off and edge effects, as well as the rifling signature itself. The system will be designed to account for these variables and differentiate fatigue crack characteristics (fault length and depth) from false readings. BENEFIT: Luna""s goal for this project is to develop a portable inspection device that is suitable to inspect gun barrels on a flight line without need to remove them from the aircraft. The proposed work plan is focused on detecting cracks that grow radially outward into the barrel wall, providing an assessment of fault location, length, and depth. This technique is important to the military community, but is applicable to many other industries as well. For example, pipelines, pressure vessels, and steam generator tubes for power plants all contain critical modes of cracking such as fatigue cracking, fretting corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, or intergranular attacking on the outer surfaces of tubes. As design and analysis techniques evolve to incorporate fatigue crack detection, it is important to have measurement techniques capable of providing supporting data. The proposed technology expands the assessment of fatigue cracking capability to support these important challenges."
Durable Hydrophobic Coatings for Corrosion Protection of Landing Gear,FA8222-14-M-0014,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Tammy Metroke,Principal Investigator,(540) 558-1663,metroket@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Landing gear are flight-critical components that are susceptible to corrosion. While currently used corrosion protective coatings (platings, paints, conversion coatings) provide adequate protection, their efficiency could be improved by a hydrophobic surface treatment that sheds water and corrosion initiators. To extend the service life of landing gear components, this program will demonstrate significant improvements over current state-of-the-art corrosion resistant coatings by treating plated or painted parts using a low cost, highly durable, transparent hydrophobic coating that has demonstrated excellent adhesion, as well as mechanical and environmental durability. Luna""s durable hydrophobic coating will shed water, corrosive salts, and other liquids quickly off of landing gear. The efficacy of the hydrophobic coatings will be validated in both accelerated corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement testing and a business case analysis will be developed for the incorporation of this coating into the corrosion protection package for landing gear. Luna""s hydrophobic coating technology for corrosion protection will decrease maintenace costs, reduce maintenance demand, and increase the service life of landing gear. BENEFIT: The benefits of the proposed hydrophobic coating include corrosion protection of plated or painted landing gear parts used in both military and commercial applications. The novel hydrophobic coating would also be applicable to both defense and civil structures that are boldly exposed to aggressive atmospheres including marine and industrial environments. Applications include tank farms, above ground pipelines, manufacturing facilities, and bridge structures. Similarly, mobile assets including ground vehicles, ships, aircraft, and support structures would also benefit. The proposed technology is already being advanced by Luna for use in numerous commercial markets including automotive windshields and aerospace canopies. Luna""s hydrophobic coating will be especially useful in applications where, in addition to watershedding, long service life, durability, wear-resistance, and chemical-resistance are important."
Microhydrogel Depot for Sustained Delivery of Prophylactic Bioscavenger,W911QY-14-C-0049,DOD,CBD,SBIR,2014,2,495725.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions307@lunainc.com,Zhiguo Zhou,Principal Investigator,(434) 483-4234,zhouz@lunainc.com,"Countering the threat of intoxication by organophosphorus nerve agents is an important mission for homeland security. Currently, the most promising strategy is to bioscavenge the agents using injectable plasma-derived butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) that has low substrate specificity and may offer a broad spectrum protection against OP agents. Human plasma-derived BuChE at 400mg IV dose is prophylactically effective achieving good protection for 10 days. However the current unmet need is a single non-IV administration capability to deliver BuChE and sustain the plasma concentration at 80-200 g/mL for up to 60 days. Luna is developing an intramuscularly injectable physiological depot engineered to release BuChE at specific rates. The Phase I results demonstrated the feasibility of the technology by both experimental data and PK modeling. The microhydrogel depot continuously released BuChE for periods up to 60 days and PK simulation data showed that the depot formulations were able to provide BuChE plasma concentrations above the protective threshold level (2xLD50) for>50 days. In the Phase II period, the depot technology will be optimized and extensively assessed in proper animal models for pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety performance. Luna will also work with JPEO-CBD to define a product development strategy and a clinical regulatory pathway."
Instrumented Test Coupons and Monitoring System for Improved Material Performance Evaluations,FA8501-14-C-0026,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,694165.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,"Principal Investigator, D",(434) 220-0148,friedersdorff@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: The annual cost of corrosion for Air Force aircraft and missiles is estimated to $5.4 billion with corrosion accounting for 32.2% of the maintenance budget. Besides these costs, corrosion also adversely impacts safety and readiness. In large part, corrosion control is achieved through materials selection based on accelerated laboratory corrosion and service environment testing. Although advances have been made in the development of more representative accelerated corrosion test cycles, similar advancements in test coupon design and instrumentation have not been realized. To address this need, Luna is developing a reliable measurement system that improves the corrosion evaluation of aircraft materials to achieve design life requirements. The measurement system will be useful for materials development, materials substitution testing, and establishing performance requirements during acquisition. The system will include a module for testing corrosion fatigue susceptibility of alloys with protective coatings. The measurement system will support risk mitigation associated with new coating introductions. Within the aircraft structural integrity program (ASIP), this measurement system would support technology and system development, demonstration, and be useful for surveying usage environments. BENEFIT: The initial CorRES system application is Air Force coatings research, test, and evaluation. The most immediate market opportunities will be within the coating research and qualification communities. Market focus will be organizations that develop and specify civil and defense aerospace coatings. Potential customers include: PPG (Deft), Akzo Nobel, Hentzen, Boeing, Air Bus, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Bell Helicopter, ARL, NAVAIR, and AMCOM. Beyond specific dual use aerospace markets, other more general markets for the CorRES system would include corrosion cabinet manufacturers and service test laboratories. The measurement system is a wireless sensor network and data acquisition system. It was projected that more than half a billion nodes shipped for wireless sensor applications in 2010 for an end-user market worth of at least $7 billion, according to ON World. The wireless sensor market is fragmented and relatively small, but poised for rapid growth, with annual growth rates of 40 or 50% expected."
Instrumented Test Coupons and Monitoring System for Improved Materials Performance Evaluations,FA8501-14-C-0017,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,750000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: The annual cost of corrosion for Air Force aircraft and missiles is estimated to $5.4 billion with corrosion accounting for 32.2% of the maintenance budget. Besides these costs, corrosion also adversely impacts safety and readiness. In large part, corrosion control is achieved through materials selection based on accelerated laboratory corrosion and service environment testing. Although advances have been made in the development of more representative accelerated corrosion test cycles, similar advancements in test coupon design and instrumentation have not been realized. To address this need, Luna is developing a reliable measurement system that improves the corrosion evaluation of aircraft materials to achieve design life requirements. The measurement system will be useful for materials development, materials substitution testing, and establishing performance requirements during acquisition. The system will include a module for testing corrosion fatigue susceptibility of alloys with protective coatings. The measurement system will support risk mitigation associated with new coating introductions. Within the aircraft structural integrity program (ASIP), this measurment system would support technology and system development, demonstration, and be useful for surveying usage environments. BENEFIT: The coating and corrosion evaluation system has the potential to: support high throughput characterization for coating development, improve coating qualification processes, support accelerated test method development, validate usage environment assumptions, and improve monitoring systems for individual asset tracking and fleet management. The measurement system would address dual use commercial and military markets in marine, aerospace, transportation, and infrastructure applications."
"Robust, Microstructured, Ice-Phobic Anti-Icing Coating for Ship Structures",N00014-14-P-1244,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,80000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,John Beck,Principal Investigator,(540) 961-4506,beckj@lunainc.com,"Naval vessels which regularly encounter sub-freezing environments experience superstructure ice accumulation which has negative effects on seaworthiness, deck safety, and ship system performance. In order to mitigate risks to mission success, this ice is currently removed with tools and de-icing solvents through a hazardous manual process with risk of damaging ship components. Ideally, these de-icing challenges would be overcome with a passive ice protection technology that does not require personnel on deck and maintains high performance of ship systems at sub-zero conditions. Technologies based on superhydrophobic surfaces delay drop freezing allowing them to roll off of surfaces before freezing, however, they are readily defeated by frost, snow, and high winds driving drops into the surface, making an additional ice-phobic capability necessary. Researchers at Luna Innovations, in collaboration with engineering professors Cohen and McKinley at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have identified a microstructured surface treatment compatible with ship coatings that can provide an unparalleled barrier to ice adhesion. The proposed spray-ready coating formulation is robust, practical and has tunable properties to include transparency and easy-cleaning capabilities."
Durable Sol-Gel Surface Treatment to Control Cathodic Current Density,N00014-14-P-1231,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,80000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Adam Goff,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2513,goffa@lunainc.com,"There are numerous regions across modern aircraft that necessitate advanced corrosion solutions in order to protect and maintain their readiness. One such application is the numerous cathodic fasteners that are galvanically coupled to anodic structural materials, like high-strength aluminum alloys. There is a need to bolster corrosion protection at these locations via a user-friendly surface treatment technology that is extremely durable and easy for maintainer application. To address this critical need, the Luna team will develop a mechanically rugged sol-gel surface treatment for common aircraft fastener materials to limit their cathodic current density. This reduction in available current will result in increased electrochemical protection of the mated aluminum substrate materials, thereby boosting the long-term corrosion resistance at treated interfaces across the aircraft. Specifically, the ambient cure sol-gel surface treatment will be formulated for dip/brush application such that it can be used as both a fastener pretreatment prior to traditional priming, as well as for direct wet installation applications. In this way, the proposed surface treatment will be a drop-in technology for the Navy maintainer and enable application via common techniques and fastener installation practices."
Durable Hydrophobic Nanocomposite Insulating Coating for High Voltage VLF/LF Antenna Components,N00014-14-P-1235,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,79999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Robert Jeffers,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-7685,jeffersr@lunainc.com,"The Fixed Submarine Broadcasting System is a low frequency (LF) and very low frequency (VLF) communication system that provides independent and survivable connectivity to the United States Navy nuclear submarine force. The Navy operates six high powered VLF and seven LF transmitter facilities at different locations around the world. These outdoor transmission antennas operate at extremely high powers generating extremely high electric fields in all environmental conditions (heat, cold, rain, and snow). These harsh conditions can lead to the degradation and failure of insulating materials used in the antenna components. Therefore there is an immediate need for a novel surface coating to apply to the insulating materials that would protect them from exposure to all weather conditions and high voltage operation. To this end, Luna Innovations Incorporated and the Georgia Tech Research Institute, propose to develop a mechanically rugged and hydrophobic sol-gel nanocomposite surface coating for common VLF/LF antenna components. Luna""s coating solution has the key characteristics necessary for this application: i) insulating, ii) hydrophobic, iii) excellent barrier properties to prevent water or ionic ingress, and iv) high durability to abrasion and weathering. Georgia Tech Research Institute""s Electromagnetic Test and Evaluation facility will evaluate Luna""s coating under high power/voltage conditions."
Bacteriocin Based Antimicrobials for Textile Applications,W911NF-14-P-0017,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions307@lunainc.com,Siqi Li,Principal Investigator,(434) 483-4230,lis@lunainc.com,"Antimicrobial treatments have been incorporated in a number of textile products used by the U.S. Army to control odor and reduce skin irritation, thus improving the quality of life for the warfighters. Current textile treatment using chemically-derived antimicrobials such as metals (silver- and copper-based compounds), polyphenols, halamines and quaternary ammonium compounds can effectively kill odor-generating Corynebacteria and skin-itching Staphylococcus aureus, however they also have significant drawbacks. To address this issue, Luna is developing a narrow-spectrum antimicrobial textile coating product based on bacteriocin molecules with proven potency and specificity and Luna""s existing polymer coating technique. During the three-phase program, Luna plans to prove its concept through testing bacteriocin antimicrobial potency and specificity in a solution-based system in Phase I. The lead bacteriocin, hemolytic and cytoxicity activities, skin permeability and production scalability, will be established. During Phase II, the bacteriocin production and coating on fabrics will be optimized and prototype fabrics will be developed and evaluated, followed by integrating with current antimicrobial textiles and evaluating for commercialization in Phase III. The project will result in antimicrobial textiles with controlled skin irritation and malodor, thereby improving the life quality of warfighters."
Dual Mode Seeker/Sensor -LADAR/RF,FA8651-14-C-0152,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149842.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Tracy Perinis,Contracts Manager,(703) 471-7671,tperinis@fibertek.com,Michael Albert,Senior Scientist,(703) 471-7671,malbert@fibertek.com,"Phase I study to determine tradeoffs and feasibility of dual mode RF/LADAR seeker. Work to focus on packaging and design tradeoffs to realize a design for a cost-effective compact dual mode seeker head. Emphasis will be on the LADAR design portion of the seeker, as RF seeker design is very mature. Emphasis will also be on integration of the LADAR/RF subsystems and the handoff protocol between the two sensors."
Near Real-Time Processing Techniques for Generation of Integrated Data Products,FA8650-14-M-1756,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149818.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Tracy Perinis,Contracts Manager,(703) 471-7671,tperinis@fibertek.com,Gary Stevenson,Director of Program Development,(703) 471-7671,gstevenson@fibertek.com,"A near-real-time processing architecture and associated algorithms are proposed. The target application is a queued LIDAR system. The proposed approach will address hardware, firmware and software requirements needed for a near-real-time system. The objective of the Phase I effort is to develop a concept for a system architecture and associated algorithms to produce near-real-time data products similar to those currently available in non-real-time systems."
Non-Mechanically Steered 3D Imaging LADAR,FA8650-14-C-1802,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,749119.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Tracy Perinis,Contracts Manager,(703) 471-7671,tperinis@fibertek.com,Shantanu Gupta,Principal Investigator,(703) 471-7671,sgupta@fibertek.com,"ABSTRACT: In this SBIR Phase 2 proposal, Fibertek proposes to develop a laboratory breadboard prototype of a 1.5-um 3D-Imaging Ladar system, based on the use of high-speed liquid-crystal (i.e. non-mechanical) beam steering technology. The proposed 3D ladar system is capable of 10s of Hz frame-rate for a mosaic-tiled ladar system, providing near-diffraction limited performance over a FOV of up to 5 x 5 degrees, and is compatible with a rodamap for integration in typical EO/IR sensor pod. Detailed study and simulation models in Phase 1 were developed for laser beam-steering and imaging (receive-path) taking into account realistic optical characteristics of liquid-crystal optical components. A representative 1.5-um liquid crystal component was also verified. In addition a detialed 3D Imaging Ladar model is used to simulate the time-domain and imaging (spatial) performance of such system. This feasibility study and detialed modeling and simulation provides quantitative metrics for performance evaluation of the prototype 3D Imaging Ladar hardware proposed for the SBIR Phase 2 program. BENEFIT: (1) Enables new CONOPS for 3D Ladar based ISR (2) Enables lightweight and low-power EO/IR sensor pod (3) Potential to eliminate gimbals used in EO sensor pod (4) Optical beam-steering for lasercom application (5) Enables lightweight beam-directors for high-energy-laser application (6) Amenable to space platform/environment due to inherent radiation hardness and low SWaP"
Security in Cyber-Physical Networked Systems,FA9453-14-M-0005,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,149997.00,"Global InfoTek, Inc",1920 Association Drive,Suite 200,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Karen Emami,CEO,(703) 652-1600,kemami@globalinfotek.com,Lance Forbes,Sr. Principal Scientist,(703) 652-1600,lforbes@globalinfotek.com,"ABSTRACT: Global InfoTek, Inc. recognizes both the unique technical challenges associated with security in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), and the critical importance of such systems across the DOD. Our solution consists for four critical elements: 1. A permissive, kernel-level, whitelisting approach. This identifies unexplained changes to executable code in a target CPS, using an abstract system model, to support attention-focusing pattern learning, and anomaly detection. 2. A spatio-temporal pattern learning module that helps define""normal""behavior, thereby focusing attention on potential anomalies which may indicate a threat to the normal operation of the CPS. The resultant learned models can be used for anomaly detection. 3. A semantic taxonomy-based model of real-world behaviors, physical constraints, and threat models. This captures architectural knowledge of the CPS, enabling robust security solutions. 4. An intelligent anomaly detection module that learns, identifies, and alerts about anomalous activity that may indicate potential security threats in a CPS. This is done using a combination of statistical and model-based anomaly detection. These four elements will be brought together using notional satellite architecture based on AFOSR""s nanosatellite projects as the target CPS for research, development, and evaluation of our approach. BENEFIT: GITI intends to pursue a two-phase commercialization strategy. The first phase focuses on marketing the resultant technology to its existing Air Force customers. GITI will leverage existing activities GITI has in several Air Force programs that can quickly take advantage of this highly critical technology. GITI will also leverage has ongoing IR & D and partnership programs for the creation of new cyber technologies. It partners with Battelle Memorial Institute to develop new cyber technologies that can be productized, either through license or direct development. GITI""s revenue generation from this partnership involves receiving royalty and license fees from developed technologies. It also partners with Raytheon, and can deliver technology to programs of record supported by Raytheon. GITI is a prime contractor on AFRL""s Agile Cyber Technologies (ACT) contract. We believe that this will provide a mechanism to transition our research to programs of record, generating revenue that can fund a business unit focused on the technology and to refine the productization of the technology elements. GITI""s objective is to generate $15M in revenue from software and services in this area by the conclusion of calendar year 2018 and an expenditure of $5M in internal funds for the support, sustainment and growth of the capability. The second phase of commercialization is to take the resultant technologies, hardened and proven in its initial commercialization efforts, to commercial and international satellite providers."
Improved Electronics Maintenance through Tester Prognostics,N68335-14-C-0082,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79582.00,Global Strategic Solutions LLC,22375 Broderick Drive,Suite 140,Sterling,VA,20166-9345,No,Yes,No,Felipe Hernandez,"Director, Business Operat",(703) 466-0500,felipe@gssllc.net,Luis Hernandez,"Director, R&D",(703) 466-0500,luis@gssllc.net,"Prognostics and health management (PHM) technology is critical for monitoring, detecting, and managing impending faults and enabling proactive maintenance of electronic systems before actual failures occur. This is essential to enhancing weapons systems reliability and maintaining a high level of mission readiness and affordability. Current PHM advancements have focused on developing physics based and data driven models to enable the predictive capability. There is a need to integrate these advancements with Automatic Test Equipment data. This effort investigates the development and application of a toolset to enable the integration of data produced by the electronic system (BIT, on-system diagnostics) with data produced by health assessment models and algorithms and data from ATE test results- for system-level prognostics and health management of electronic systems. The effort researches and characterizes a systematic framework for the integration, processing, distribution and management of health state data across multiple networked ATE systems and multiple maintenance organizations. This effort includes investigating the application and enhancement of the latest IEEE ATS-related standards such as ATML to provide a structure for capturing, exchange and management of health state data and information across the maintenance infrastructure. A proof-of-concept demonstration for a small target system is part of this effort."
"Improved, Flexible Infrastructure Compatible, Open-Loop Air-Cooled Computer Rack / Cabinet",N00024-14-P-4548,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79941.00,Global Technical Systems,784 Lynnhaven Parkway,,Virginia Beach,VA,23452-7315,Yes,Yes,No,Christine Boettger,Director of Contracts,(757) 468-8751,christine.boettger@gtshq.com,Andrew Nall,Prinicipal Investigator,(757) 468-8751,andrew.nall@gtshq.com,"Global Technical Systems (GTS), prime contractor and lead design agent for the Common Processing System (CPS) offers innovative research and development for the cooling of electronic enclosures to the Navy in response to the need for an Improved, Flexible Infrastructure Compatible, Open-Loop Air-Cooled Computer Rack/ Cabinet. Traditional cooling methods for enclosures rely on liquid based heat exchangers and/or local fan assemblies to force air through components. Typical air cooled arrangements intake air from compartments in which they are located and return warmer air into the housing space. Conversely, closed loop liquid cooled enclosures make use of radiators to dissipate heat. Both approaches have detrimental impact to available rack space utilization for computing equipment and introduce unnecessary failure points. This proposal seeks to leverage the Flexible Infrastructure (FI) advancements developed for new ship construction that permit compartment reconfiguration while reducing energy consumption and lifecycle costs. The proposed Phase I study will analyze approaches to integration of the Advanced COTS Enclosure (ACE) with FI, and evaluate resulting design changes. Efforts will determine worst case heat dissipation and utilize the CPS payload to apply the innovative air cooled concept to characterize an active dampening system recommendation for prototype development in Phase II."
High Efficiency Low Weight W-Band PolyStrata Antenna,M67854-14-C-6511,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79995.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Executive Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Jean-Marc Rollin,Member Technical Staff,(800) 341-2333,jmrollin@nuvotronics.com,"Nuvotronics is proposing to Navy SBIR number N132-087 to develop novel high efficiency, light weight, low manufacturing cost 94 GHz antenna modules toward future Active Denial Technology systems. RF passive components based on waveguides are generally very low loss but are heavy, expensive to machine at high frequency and bulky. Components based on substrate material such as ceramic or printed circuit board can provide lower weight but exhibit high loss especially at high frequencies. To provide RF components and modules with low loss, compact and low weight, Nuvotronics is proposing to design a new 94 GHz antenna array module based on our proven PolyStrata integrated transmission line and our 3D micro-fabrication technology. PolyStrata offers unprecedented performance in propagation loss, ultra-high efficiency antenna elements, interconnections, and high performance packaging at mm-wave frequency suitable to provide substantial improvement performance, size and weight."
High-Power Phase Shifter,N00024-14-P-4525,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79931.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Exec. Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Steve Huettner,Chief Engineer,(800) 341-2333,shuettner@nuvotronics.com,"High-power-handling, low-loss (1 dB) microwave phase shifters hold the key to affordable electronically steerable apertures for radar and communications, eliminating the need for active TR modules at every element. Nuvotronics proposes a solid-state approach which will provide loss performance equal to or better than the best demonstrated MEMS phase shifters, reliably handle ten watts of peak power without gain compression, and switch in nanoseconds. Our approach exploits a state-of-the-art MMIC process and utilizes new architectures for 180 and 90 degree bits for flat phase states and low loss over wide bandwidths. In Phase I of this program Nuvotronics will execute linear models of four-bit solid-state phase shifters at S, C, and X-band to show feasibility of high-power solid-state phase shifters with less than 1 dB average loss. Our Phase I program will culminate in breadboard demonstration of a C-band 180 degree phase shifter bit with 10 watts power handling using production-released MMIC technology. During Phase II we will demonstrate a complete four-bit MMIC design at X-band that meets all RF requirements at production cost target of"
Antenna Design in PolyStrata for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,FA8650-14-C-1811,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,746155.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott A. Meller,Executive Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Anatoliy Boryssenko,Member Technical Staff,(800) 341-2333,aboryssenko@nuvotronics.com,"ABSTRACT: There is the growing demand for user terminals for mobile satellite telecommunication (SATCOM) applications including K/Ka dual-band SATCOM for unmanned and manned aircraft platforms. Nuvotronics is pleased to propose a two-year SBIR program to the Air Force for the development of a fully-electronically steerable array capable of scanning beams from zenith to near the horizon to replace a mechanically steerable dish antenna traditionally installed on UAVs. During the first year we will design, fabricate and test all key components of the proposed SATCOM antenna system for UAV including conformal dual K/Ka band dual-CP radiating aperture and beam control elements. In Year 2, Nuvotronics will work with the development, implementation and measurement of a dual K/Ka band dual-CP demonstration array with beam steering capabilities that will be composed of several key parts developed during Year 1. This hardware prototype will demonstrate notional functionality of the proposed SATCOM antenna system for UAV platforms and will be delivered to the government for evaluation. BENEFIT: Military and commercial requirements are driving the need for increasing numbers of airborne terminals for SATCOM applications. Broadband-level connectivity is driving migration to Ka-band and higher frequencies. The current solutions at Ka-band frequencies are either mechanically-scanned antennas or flat-panel planar arrays--both have drawbacks. Electronically scanned SATCOM antennas are lower-profile than mechanically-scanned systems. This is important for aerodynamics of a given platform. This is also important as increased ISR functionality is placed on smaller UAV platforms, as smaller antennas are required. A SATCOM antenna replacement for the Predator UAV is an initial target application. The proposed approach has size and weight advantages compared to currently available systems."
Military Training Systems Acceptance Test&Evaluation,N68335-14-C-0314,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,292527.00,Innovative Defense Technologies,4401 Wilson Boulevard,Suite 810,Arlington,VA,22203-,No,No,No,Teddy Kidd,Contracts Administrator,(703) 522-4032,tkidd@idtus.com,Elfriede Dustin,Principal Engineer,(703) 725-3051,edustin@idtus.com,"Automated testing will need to become an integral part in the PMA-281 T & E program and an automated testing program needs to be developed and implemented. Since PMA-281 programs will comply with the OSD UCS Architecture, which is Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)-based, the PMA-281 T & E program/automated testing strategy will need to consider automated testing throughout the entire SOA testing lifecycle. The goal of delivering faster, less expensive, and higher quality software will only be met with comparable improvements in the methodology and tools used for testing. The opportunity exists under this SBIR to develop and engineer an integrated technology suite to accomplish most efficient PMA-281 testing. Developing automatic testing capability across PMA-281 will allow for execution of complex tests and verification of the results in near real-time. These Phase II.5 efforts will provide a significant advancement in PMA-281 system execution, and supports PMA-281""s desire to deliver capability at a faster pace within a fiscally challenged environment."
"Corrosion Identification, Removal and Cleaning of Galvanic Couples in Difficult to Access Areas",FA8117-14-C-0010,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149961.00,Laser & Plasma Technologies,1100 Exploration Way,,Hampton,VA,23666-,No,No,No,Benjamin Hering,Director,(757) 325-6783,bhering@lpttech.com,Guoqing Shen,Senior Research Scientist,(757) 325-6783,paul.shen@lpttech.com,"Laser & Plasma Technologies (LPT) is proposing an optical fiber coupled corrosion treatment system, in which a unique thermographic imaging technique is used for early detection of corrosion. Combined with fiber laser removal and repair technologies, the system provides the capabilities of corrosion detection, removal, cleaning, and repair in difficult to access areas without damaging the underlying substrate or adjacent features. Early and accurate corrosion detection and repair are very important for monitoring aging of both military and civilian aircraft because corrosion can lead to a fast and fatal failure in engineering structures of aircraft. Furthermore, even in the case of newer systems and components, corrosion can be a significant problem because of the harsh operational environments encountered. This corrosion detection and treatment system utilizes a novel thermographic imaging technology, which is applied in an ongoing NAVY Phase 2.5 project, with fiber optic techniques for corrosion detection and repair. The proposed approach uses optical methods for corrosion detection and treatment making it highly environmentally friendly because there are no chemicals involved. The system also provides fast and accurate detection, efficient and low cost repair, and compact and portable size for field applications."
"Easy Detection, Repair and Removal of Corrosion from Aluminum Alloy Substrates",FA8117-14-C-0015,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,Materials Modification Inc,2809-K Merrilee Drive,,Fairfax,VA,22031-,No,Yes,No,T.s. Sudarshan,President and CEO,(703) 560-1371,sudarshan@matmod.com,Kausik Mukhopadhyay,Senior Chemist,(703) 560-1371,kausik@matmod.com,"ABSTRACT: In this Phase I, MMI proposes an innovative technology using a combination of Acousto-Ultrasonics diagnostics and piezoelectric transducers to detect corrosion in advance. The electro-mechanical coupling allows direct interface with electronics used for sensing or actuation purposes. Using Acousto-Ultrasonics and in-situ piezoelectric transducers, atmospheric corrosion on a aluminum alloys and galvanic couples can be easily monitored. This approach will provide earlier detection to difficult-to-access areas in the aircrafts and improved ease of repair procedures or capability. For removal and cleaning of corrosion of galvanic couples, MMI will use innovative approaches to develop self-cleaning and healing anti-corrosion coatings for aluminum components and aircraft parts. The trigger-and-release approach from the nano-capsules present in the coating will be beneficial for optimized amount of materials released, hence will not increase the weight of the aircraft component. Characteristic features of the technology include: Transducer based guided wave diagnostics for early detection of corrosion Nanomaterial-based low VOC cleaning and anti-corrosion coatings New technology based on trigger-and-release self-cleaning and healing mechanism Coating can withstand harsh conditions (salinity, temperature, chemicals, 3 & #61603; pH & #61603; 14) Easy detection and application on site and not labor-intensive process BENEFIT: Early detection of corrosion in and around difficult-to-access zones in aircraft structures is essential to resist corrosion on galvanic and aluminum alloys. The worldwide cost of corrosion has been estimated to be nearly $300 billion per year. A quick, easy and precise identification system that can detect corrosion in advance has a great potential to eradicate corrosion for advanced engineering systems. The detection technology and remedy using the coating systems developed in this effort will provide solutions to structural (bridges, bunkers), automotive (cars), aviation and warfare applications in the US defense and military sectors. The anticipated benefits can be propelled for civilian and construction purposes."
Processing of Metal Powders for Enhanced Combustion Efficiencies,N00014-14-P-1148,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79976.00,"MATSYS, Inc.",45490 Ruritan Circle,,Sterling,VA,20164-,No,No,No,Tony Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,Tony Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,"MATSYS proposes to develop a processing technology to maximize the combustion efficiency of metal powders and enhance warhead blast performance. Metal powder particles are typically prepared by inert gas atomization and have very clean surfaces. These particles are then exposed to a controlled amount of oxygen to pacify the surface and enable safe handling, packing and shipping. These metal particles are now coated with an oxide layer. In some applications, these metallic powder particles are intended to participate in an exothermic reaction and release energy upon shock or impact loading. The existence of an oxide layer requires the heating of the particle surface to higher temperature to break the oxide surface before the exothermic reaction can take place. The result is a delay in the reaction initiation and an incomplete reaction during a detonation event because of the higher temperature required for heating. Both of these factors contribute to a lower energy release than theoretical, and thus a loss of combustion efficiency. The initial feasibility will be demonstrated using instrumented-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) to fabricate the specimens for blast chamber testing."
Blast Exposure Dosimetry System (BEDS),M67854-14-C-6519,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,499919.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Ron Knobler,Director of Engineering,(540) 373-2374,rknobler@mcqinc.com,"Explosive devices are an ever present danger to the modern warfighter. These devices can take a wide range of forms from hand grenades to mortars to improvised explosive devices (IED). The pressure wave from an explosive blast can cause severe internal and external injury to a warfighter, often in the form of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Currently, those who are within 50m of an explosion, even during training exercises, are taken off duty for at least 48 hours to ensure that no TBIs were suffered. A blast dosimeter, capable of measuring the severity of multiple blast exposures over time, would allow warfighters to determine the likelihood of internal injury due to blast exposure, potentially reducing the amount of off duty time required. In Phase II, McQ will extend its conceptual system design to complete the development, assembly, and testing of a complete prototype dosimeter system, that is ready for government acceptance testing."
Remote Interface for Munition Recorder Instrument Packages (RIMRIP),FA8651-14-C-0180,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,749979.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Ron Knobler,Director of Engineering,(540) 373-2374,rknobler@mcqinc.com,"ABSTRACT: RIMRIP will be developed to remotely gain access to data stored in a data recorder after a shock test. Based on McQ""s extensive RF communication, embedded electronics, data recorder, and shock hardening experience, it will develop an extremely small form factor and inexpensive solution to meet all of the requirements of this system. During Phase I, McQ selected the critical electronic components and performed a series of soil communications testing in a relevant environment which exceeded the range, reliability, and data rate requirements. McQ also developed a complete conceptual design of the system. In Phase II, McQ will perform functional shock tests of critical system components, assemble the system, and perform a variety of shock and performance testing in both laboratory and fielded environments to satisfy all system requirements. BENEFIT: A remote interrogator for munitions recorder instrument packages will allow for more reliable retrieval of data collected for instrumentation during a shock test compared with current methods -- the data can be recovered immediately after the test, without the slow and delicate process of disassembling the device under test to gain access to the recorder, to then download the data. McQ has expertise with small custom embedded system design, g-hardened applications, data recorders, developing custom reliable communications solutions, and developing polished products that are used by various government and military agencies. Therefore, this RIMRIP system will integrate with a variety of military instrument packages to provide a general remote interrogator product to be used in various environments."
"Wireless, Time-synchronized, Event Control System",FA2487-14-C-0263,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,725789.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Rob Klug,Engineer II,(540) 373-2374,rklug@mcqinc.com,"ABSTRACT: McQ Inc. developed a prototype Wireless Time-synchronized Event Control System (WTECS) for the 846th Test Squadron operating the Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT) at Holloman Air Force Base. The current state of WTECS is TRL6 and MRL 9, while the desired end state of the transition effort is TRL7 and MRL 10. Improvements such as developing a database for the base station will allow the system to store data from multiple missions which will significantly decrease the chance of allowing the user to lose the data collected from the current mission. Through environmentally testing all system devices, users can expect predictable performance in a variety of outdoor conditions. Through various hardware and software modifications to the system, the production cost per system device will be lower and the system will be easier to use and contain all of the functionality desired by end users; both of which will increase adoption of the system. Making the system cheaper to produce and easier to use will directly result in a more mature system that the 846th Test Squadron will use. BENEFIT: The WTECS system is needed to replace the obsolete timing system currently in use at HHSTT. The current system has limited, outdated performance capabilities that limit the ability to test and obtain the data needed for customer missions. Also, the useful lifetime of the current system is rapidly depleting as hardware failures and the inability to replace components make many devices in the current system unusable. Like any complex R & D program with a limited budget, to successfully deliver a system within the Phase II base period, McQ had to limit the features and capabilities implemented such that at least the minimum set of system requirements were met. However, McQ has compiled a detailed list of suggested feature improvements based on feedback from the customer as well as limitations McQ found during integration testing prior to system delivery. These features improve the usability and reliability of the system as well as meet various goals of Phase II that were not met due to budget constraints. Therefore, the system will operate more efficiently and will reduce the number of manhours required to setup and perform tests using the WTECS system."
Buoy Guard System,WC-133R-14-CN-0099,DOC,NOAA,SBIR,2014,2,399999.94,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Ron Knobler,Director of Engineering,(540) 373-2374,rknobler@mcqinc.com,"Buoy vandalism occurs all over the world for many different reasons, and costs NOAA and other buoy operators an estimated $1 million annually to replace and repair them. To deter vandals and report any vandal attempts to NOAA, McQ has developed the Buoy Guard System (BGS). BGS is a small, extremely low power sensor system that will detect the presence of intruders first approaching and then boarding the buoy. The primary intruder detection mode will be acoustic augmented by accelerometer. Once detected, the system will automatically capture images of the intruders and send them back via satellite communications (satcom) to buoy operators for action. Image processing will determine the optimal images to send back over satcom and optical character recognition (OCR) processing will send back the text read from the stern or sides of the intruding vessel. The detections and imagery will also be stored securely in BGS on the buoy for later retrieval. Additionally the system will have non-lethal deterrents (specifically strobe lights, an audio alarm, supplemented with sonic nausea) to ward off both ill intentioned as well as curious intruders. The system is completely self-contained and can easily be installed on a wide variety of buoy designs."
Fragment Size Analysis and Tracking System,HQ0147-14-C-7015,DOD,MDA,SBIR,2014,2,974857.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Ron Knobler,Director of Engineering,(540) 373-2374,rknobler@mcqinc.com,"McQ has developed the Fragment Size Analysis and Tracking (FSAT) system which replaces the ring of switch screens used to record fragment impact time in ground based arena and sled testing with a network of sensors containing high speed cameras. FSAT will record and analyze video of warhead fragmentation then automatically produce a report describing the mass, size, speed, and trajectory of each fragment. In Phase II, McQ will complete the design of the system, assemble it, and perform live arena tests to quantify its performance in relevant environments. Approved for Public Release 14-MDA-7739 (18 March 14)."
Flying Insect Sampling Device (FISDe),W81XWH-13-C-0113,DOD,DHP,SBIR,2014,2,929650.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Robert Fish,Chief Information Officer,(540) 373-2374,rfish@mcqinc.com,"The Army Defense Health Program has a need for a novel freestanding device to sample and collect a broad spectrum of flying insects (order Diptera) for the purpose of analyzing possible disease vectors. The sampling device is required to be effective against mosquitoes (Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex) and sand flies (Phlebotomus and Lutzomyai) in particular, and with desired applicability to other species such as black flies, biting midges and tsetse flies. The collection device is required to be lightweight, compact, and portable so as to ease the installation and maintenance of the system. In Phase I, McQ performed research to develop a complete conceptual design for a flying insect sampling device (FISDe). In Phase II, McQ will complete the design, and fabricate a complete system (sampling devices and a backend/user interface) suitable for sampling flying insects in both tropical and desert environments."
Mine Drift Prediction Tactical Decision Aid (TDA) - MP 65-13,N00014-14-P-1067,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,80000.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Lawrence Stone,Chief Scientist,(703) 326-2840,stone@metsci.com,"The goal of the proposed work is to use real-time environmental observations, wind and ocean current models, and other sources of information to predict the drift of mines. The predicted trajectories of the mines will be used as inputs to modules that will be developed to recommend (1) search plans to search for or neutralize mines and (2) ship paths that minimize risk."
Advance Tracking Algorithms to Meet Modern Threats - MP 14-14,FA8650-14-M-1774,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149954.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric W. George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Kristine Bell,Senior Analyst,(703) 326-2913,bell@metsci.com,"Modern UAVs and fifth-generation aircraft are capable of supermaneuverability that includes rapid changes in acceleration, high-G turns, and rapid changes in radar cross-section (RCS) and/or low RCS profile. These traits pose problems to conventional Kalman-based trackers (including the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF)) which assume linearized models with additive Gaussian noise processes and require data be processed to provide""detections.""Consequently, systems that use these trackers will break lock. In contrast, grid and particle filter (PF) trackers allow nonlinear state and measurement models, do not require additive Gaussian noise processes, and can use track-before-detect (TBD) measurement models to achieve significantly improved performance. In Phase I, we propose to evaluate several nonlinear filtering (NLF) algorithms to determine their performance in terms of tracking ability and computational requirements. The simulation study will include targets that exhibit supermaneuverability, low RCS, specular scintillation properties, and combinations of the preceding. The techniques we will investigate include the EKF, UKF, Grid Filter, Resampling PF, and Homotopy PF with multiple motion models. We will report performance/compute tradeoffs for the algorithms and identify capability gaps to be addressed in Phase II."
Advanced Analytics for Discovering Areas of Interest - MP106-13,N00014-14-P-1123,DOD,OSD,SBIR,2014,1,149938.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,contracting@metsci.com,Greg Godfrey,Senior Manager,(703) 326-2897,godfrey@metsci.com,"Metron and Next Century propose to design, to develop, and to demonstrate a proof-of-concept pattern recognition capability using open source data types ported to a spatial grid structure. The capability would identify areas of interest from the data and display the results as heat maps showing both current and future (predicted) states. Metron brings to the Phase I effort extensive experience in large-scale data analysis for spatial, temporal and graphical data types, and has applied this expertise for both military and commercial customers where manual discovery of interesting patterns is not practical due to data size. To complement Metrons expertise, Next Century has deployed a geospatial-based IED event analysis tool and was one of the founding developers of the Ozone Widget Framework (OWF) and OWF Marketplace (OMP). Next Century continues to support the development and enhancement of OWF and OMP Government Open Source Software (GOSS) efforts, and provides OWF GOSS technical support to Department of Defense and Intelligence Community user communities."
Predictive Model for Imaging Underwater Objects through the Air-Sea Interface - MP 51-13,N00014-14-C-0086,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,497274.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Tom Giddings,Senior Analyst,(703) 326-2828,giddings@metsci.com,"The objective of this project is to develop high-fidelity, computationally efficient, physics based models for electro-optical imaging systems that operate from an above-water platform and are used to detect underwater objects. The goal is to accurately simulate the output of such systems and provide meaningful quantitative measures of their performance based on environment and threat specifications, and to integrate this functionality within Navy Mine Warfare (MIW) Command & Control (C2) systems, such as the Netcentric Sensor Analysis for MIW (NSAM) system and MIW and Environmental Decision Aids Library (MEDAL)."
"Adaptive, Immersive Training to Counter Deception and Denial Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) for C4ISR Networks",FA8650-14-M-6563,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149930.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric W. George,CFO,(703) 787-8700,egeorge@metsci.com,Marconi Ratonel,Sr. Manager,(619) 727-4020,ratonel@metsci.com,"ABSTRACT: Metron, Inc. (Metron) proposes a unique cyber security training environment which will be overlaid on training networks as a set of distributed host and network-based agents. These agents will communicate with an automated cyber war gaming engine to conduct mock cyber attack and defense in real-time on the training network in pursuit of instructor-configurable mission objectives. Software agents will use real tools like file transfer agents, network scanners, and built-in operating system commands to pursue their objectives, thereby creating realistic, detectable patterns of network traffic and sensing and responding in real-time to real effects created by the actions of human agents. Trainees will therefore be able to engage the software agents in real-time using real tools in a real network environment. In essence, the training environment will conduct on-demand, automated Red team exercises and war gaming scenarios in which trainees may participate. Software agents will also be able to emulate network users in order to generate a realistic baseline of network traffic. This approach will be amenable to both physical and virtual machines. Instructors will be able to overlay the training environment on their own custom network architectures, effectively turning a network of their choice into a virtual cyber range. BENEFIT: Metron""s proposed cyber war gaming environment integrates network intelligence into cyber security training. Trainees would build invaluable tacit knowledge of real systems while also learning to recognize cyber threat indicators and apply mitigation techniques. The proposed system would provide trainees the kind of experience usually attained through costly Red team penetration testing and Red team/Blue team cyber war gaming scenarios like the recent Waking Shark II simulation carried out by financial organizations in London. The proposed system would provide similar instructional value on-demand at a fraction of the cost because it would provide automated Red team and Blue team actors. Large organizations would be able to make cyber war gaming a more regular aspect of their cyber security training regimens. Small and medium-size organizations which could not formerly afford to conduct cyber war gaming scenarios would gain access to a new form of cyber security training. The potential benefits of the proposed system to Air Force cyber security training are huge. Instructors could roll out much more timely and realistic training environments than is possible with current systems. However, many other sectors of government or industry could benefit from enhanced cyber security training as well. Critical infrastructure has become a major target of cyber attacks. In 2012, the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) received 198 cyber incident reports, 41% targeting the energy sector and 15% the water sector. Online gaming and cloud services are increasing being co-opted as attack vectors to target end users. Government agencies like the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Justice (DOJ), brick-and-mortar retailers, cloud service providers, and industrial control system (ICS) engineers alike will be able to benefit from this technology."
Fully Adaptive Radar - MP 36-14,FA8650-14-C-1825,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,749934.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric W. George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Kristine Bell,Senior Analyst,(703) 326-2913,bell@metsci.com,"ABSTRACT: The concept of fully adaptive radar (FAR) seeks to exploit all available degrees of freedom on transmit and receive in order to maximize radar system performance. Of key importance is the concept of closed loop radar operation via feedback from the receiver to transmitter for guiding the next illumination. The first goal of this project is to develop a cognitive radar system definition that identifies key components of cognitive radar, provides formal definitions for those components, and relates them to concepts in cognition. The second goal is to develop a theoretical framework for a FAR system that includes specification of the feedback mechanism from the receiver to the transmitter and specification of performance metrics to assess FAR system performance. The third goal is to develop application-specific models, simulations, and analysis methods to demonstrate and measure the performance improvement achieved by FAR systems over standard feed-forward radar systems. The fourth goal is to demonstrate the real-time operation of a FAR system on a cognitive radar testbed in a laboratory setting. BENEFIT: Radar systems are crucial for robust surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance in all weather conditions and over wide ranges of interest. Most radar systems employ a feed-forward processing chain in which they first perform some low-level processing of received echo data and then pass the processed data on to some higher-level processor, which extracts information to achieve a system objective. The concept of fully adaptive radar seeks to exploit all available degrees of freedom on transmit and receive in order to maximize radar system performance. The application of artificial cognition to radar systems thus offers much promise for improved sensing as well as the creation of new sensing modalities. Research into cognitive systems is currently in its infancy and the results of this project will help define the field. The modeling, simulation, analysis, and experimentation tools developed under this project are quite general. As such, they can be applied to a variety of radar systems for a variety of missions, and can be translated into other domains such as computing, autonomous vehicles, and perhaps even neuroscience and evolutionary biology. The project will develop the fundamental tools necessary to design and analyze a cognitive processing system, and will enable further research in the abovementioned diverse fields."
Expendable Direct Sensing for AUV Based Geotechnical Survey Operations,N00014-14-P-1212,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,79993.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Martin Siderius,Associate Professor,(503) 725-3223,siderius@pdx.edu,There is a documented high priority Navy need to substantially reduce Mine Countermeasures (MCM) tactical survey mine hunting and neutralization timelines in support of relevant Operational Plans (OPLANs) and Concept of Operation Plans (CONPLANs). Hence there is also a need to minimize the time and resources required to conduct MCM baseline surveys (and re-surveys) in key Continental United States (CONUS) and Outside Continental United States (OCONUS) Maritime Homeland Security (MHS) and Navy areas of interest (AOIs). Hence the purpose of the innovative autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) based geotechnical survey operations related sensing and processing initiatives proposed here is to investigate advanced (but low-cost) unmanned sensing and processing options addressing this critical Navy/MHS need.
MIMO Radar Clutter Modeling - MP 98-12,FA9550-14-C-0017,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,2,749830.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric W. George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Kristine L. Bell,Senior Scientist,(703) 326-2913,bell@metsci.com,"ABSTRACT: The goal of this project is to develop a site-specific physics-based model and simulation capability for MIMO radar clutter and to perform an extensive and exhaustive validation of the model through statistical and experimental data analysis. The foundation of our model is a physics-based bistatic scattering model (PBSM) capable of predicting clutter patch statistical properties including the probability distribution of clutter patch returns and their correlation properties as a function of frequency, time, space, polarization, and angle, given the radar sensor properties, site-specific observing geometry, and site-specific scattering environment characteristics. The PBSM will be incorporated into a MIMO radar system model and computer simulation tool capable of generating MIMO radar clutter samples. The MIMO radar system model will include multiple airborne platforms, a variety of waveforms, site-specific modeling of clutter patch geometry, and a variety of natural and urban clutter classes. The simulator will include a companion set of tools for statistical and experimental model validation and inference. Finally, the models will be extensively validated experimentally collected data. BENEFIT: The availability of realistic clutter models and simulated clutter data is critical for advanced system design and performance analysis for MIMO GMTI radar systems. This tool will provide such a capability, which currently does not exist."
Improved Manufacturing Technology for Investment Casting Cores,FA8650-14-C-5008,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,877725.00,"Mikro Systems, Inc.",1180 Seminole Trail,Suite 220,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,Pamela Meller,Financial Controller,(434) 244-6480,meller@mikrosystems.com,Iain Fraser,Program Manager - Turbine,(434) 244-6480,fraser@mikrosystems.com,"ABSTRACT: The centerpiece of this proposed work is the application of an innovative manufacturing technology developed by Mikro Systems, Inc. (Mikro) called Tomo-Lithographic-Molding (TOMO). In recent years important breakthroughs have been realized as TOMO has been applied to the production of advanced ceramic cores for investment casting of turbine airfoils. For large IGT components, Mikro technology is currently at a high readiness level. This effort would work to adapt the advanced core success TOMO has made for large industrial gas turbine components to advanced smaller scale aerospace airfoils. This Phase II will complete a critical development phase which will address the remaining technical challenges of adapting the technology. This development is in preparation for a follow on production effort in which Mikro Systems will produce ceramic cores for complex turbine blades for an OEM""s turbine platform. These turbine blades will be delivered to a planned engine test that will demonstrate a technology readiness increase for TOMO and significant component cost reductions. BENEFIT: This effort will demonstrate Mikro""s ability to significantly compress the design-to-production time, reduce manufacturing cost, and improve product producibility/quality of aerospace turbine airfoils. Successful transition of the TOMO technology through this program will reduce system costs and improve component performance for the targeted platform. Mikro""s technology will also enable rapid program scale-up, reduce acquisition costs and improve surge production capabilities. TOMO is a dual use technology and has opportunities for commercialization in military unique, dual use, and civil aerospace turbines. Additionally, given the flexibility of the TOMO process, advancements can be developed for other turbine components increasing the positive impact and ROI of the technology. These benefits will improve turbine specific fuel consumption, improve thrust performance, and reduce emissions for turbine engines. Successful transition would present significant growth for Mikro Systems and benefit the local economy though significant job creation."
Rapid Manufacturing Method for High-Temperature Turbine Components,DE-SC0010175,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2014,2,999458.00,"Mikro Systems, Inc.",1180 Seminole Trail,Suite 220,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,Pamela Meller,Dr.,,meller@mikrosystems.com,Jon Moore,,4342446480,jmoore@mikrosystems.com,"The Rapid Manufacturing Method leverages additive manufacturing to produce tooling which is combined with an innovative material system to produce components from industry standard materials; powdered metals and ceramics. The process is used to produce components with complex geometries in higher volumes for aerospace, power generation, automotive, and other industries."
Engineered Process Materials for Casting of Aerospace Components,FA8650-14-M-5048,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"Mikro Systems, Inc.",1180 Seminole Trail,Suite 220,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,Pamela Meller,Financial Controller,(434) 244-6480,meller@mikrosystems.com,Iain Fraser,Program Manager - Turbine Products,(434) 244-6480,fraser@mikrosystems.com,"ABSTRACT: The centerpiece of the proposal is the use of an innovative manufacturing technology developed by Mikro Systems, Inc. (Mikro) called Tomo-Lithographic-Molding (TOMOSM). The TOMO technology enables rapid and cost effective fabrication of tooling and production next generation components. It does so by leveraging the use of lithographic machining combined with traditional CNC tooling, a high-strength ceramic binder system, flexible conformal production tools, and a low-pressure ceramic casting process. The final products (cores and wax patterns) are produced using industry standard, foundry-ready materials and impose no disruption to the turbine supply chain. The technology also has the technical properties needed to produce an engineered integrated core and castings shell system. In Phase I, Mikro will apply the TOMO process to the design and production of an integrated core and shell system. It will formulate a design of experiments, produce and test the efficacy of the system, and define areas needing further optimization. In Phase II Mikro will translate the results from Phase I and leverage the design flexibility and manufacturing capabilities of TOMO to optimize an engineered core and shell solution. BENEFIT: Mikro""s innovative technologies will successfully integrate the casting core and shell into an engineered system which can optimize heat transfer and increase dimensional control of aerospace castings. This would enable an increase in design freedom for finer and thinner features that would dramatically improve airfoil designs (increase efficiency, reduce fuel consumption). The resulting system would also eliminate costly and time intensive production steps from the investment casting process (production cost savings, energy savings and surge capability benefit)."
AFOS: Automated Geopositional Feature-on-Video Overlay Service,N66001-14-C-5210,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,735677.00,"Mosaic ATM, Inc.",VA,Suite 300,Leesburg,VA,20175-5685,No,No,No,Chris Stevenson,Contracts Manager,(540) 454-7458,stevenson@mosaicatm.com,Brian Capozzi,Principal Analyst,(509) 637-0058,bcapozzi@mosaicatm.com,"To help improve the accuracy and efficiency with which battlespace awareness is established in maritime and littoral environments, new capabilities are required for automated detection and correction of sensor metadata errors from ISR platforms. AFOS provides a unique solution to this problem and has been successfully prototyped and demonstrated live on relevant data. The proposed Phase II.5 effort will provide continued development of AFOS""algorithms, software, and interfaces, bringing the system and its metadata correction capabilities closer to the warfighter, inside the analyst""s workstation, and to the fingertips of the sensor operator. The focus in Phase II.5 is on realism and the use of maximally relevant data sets to help ensure that algorithms and software are ready to tackle the challenges of the operational environment."
Radiation Hardened Graphene based Nonvolatile Memory for Space Applications,FA9453-14-M-0054,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Yuhong Kang,PI,(540) 626-6266,ekang@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: This Air Force Phase I SBIR program would develop and demonstrate radiation hardened graphene based nonvolatile memory(NVM) for space applications. Specifically, we would combine advances in resistive memory materials, including graphene and graphene oxides, with the careful manipulation of metal ion, oxygen vacancy or other charge transport in graphene based materials, to realize the radiation hardened NVM devices and arrays with high reliability and high density. NanoSonic has demonstrated a Ta2O5 based resistive memory with on-off ratios of 10^5, device power consumption of 10^-5 Watts and switching speeds of 100ns. We have also demonstrated a successful total ionizing dose (TID) test for the nonvolatile memory under the gamma ray dose level up to 1 Mrad. The devices maintain memory functionalities with high reliability during and after the radiation exposure. During the program, we will investigate the responsible mechanisms for graghene based NVMs, including the NEM effect and ionic effect, and their resistance to radiation. We will fabricate arrayed devices with ultradense crossbar latches structure, using radiation hardened graphene to evaluate the materials and device performance. Memory device parameters namely onoff ratio, on-state current, switching time, retention time, cycling endurance, power consumption and rectification will be evaluated during Phase I using extensive facilities available in NanoSonic and Virginia Tech. Radiation testing include total ionization dose and single event effects, which will be performed at Aeroflex-RAD""s Co60 irradiator facility and Texas A & M""s Cyclotron facility. BENEFIT: The proposed radiation hardened graphene based resistive memory is critical for electronics in space. They can be fashioned into non-volatile memory, which would allow greater data density than hard drives with access times potentially similar to DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). A broad band of applications of the proposed devices also include analog circuits, neuromorphic computing, programmable logic and signal processing. NanoSonic's research in the nanobridge based resistive device field has shown promise in producing NVM devices of low power consumption, high density and high performance."
Low Loss Polymer Optical Fiber and Components for High Speed Optical Networks,DE-SC0011255,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,Dr.,5406266266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Richard Claus,Dr.,5406266266,roclaus@nanosonic.com,"This DOE SBIR program would develop a manufacturing process to produce plastic optical fibers with bandwidth, bend loss and ease of installation significantly improved over currently available products. Current polymer optical fibers are manufactured using bulk polymer processing methods. These methods limit the types of fiber waveguides that may be formed, so significantly limit their maximum achievable bandwidth and their losses due to bending. NanoSonic would develop a polymer optical fiber manufacturing approach based on patented self-assembly methods that would instead allow production similar to that of high performance glass optical fibers. During Phase I, NanoSonic would demonstrate the use of layerbylayer polymer selfassembly processes to fabricate polymer optical fiber preforms, draw the preforms into prototype fiber, and demonstrate fiber performance in comparison to currently available polymer optical fiber products. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Polymer optical fiber with improved bandwidth and loss characteristics has immediate large-scale commercial application in the interconnection of local bandwidth-intensive computing, communication and display devices. Such improved fiber would enable longer distance and higher speed local interconnections to existing high-speed longhaul fiber backbone lines, with easier and lower cost installation and maintenance than possible with current polymer fibers."
"Cryogenically Flexible, Low Permeability Thoraeus Rubber H2 Dispenser Hose",DE-SC0010162,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2014,2,1000000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,Dr.,,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,Dr.,5406266266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,A stateof-theart hydrogen dispensing hose is being developed for civilian use under DOE funding. It has the potential to revolutionize hydrogen as a green alternative energy source to gasoline and diesel fuels.
"LOW FRICTION, HIGHLY WEAR RESISTANT HYBRIDSIL COATINGS FOR THE VSRD",FA8650-14-M-5063,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vince Baranauskas,PI,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: Through the proposed Air Force SBIR program, NanoSonic will create and qualify an ultra-low friction, highly wear resistant HybridSil VSRD coating with drastically enhanced abrasion resistance and environmental durability over currently employed fluoropolymers. The proposed VSRD coating will leverage NanoSonic""s low friction, ballistic protective coating technology which is currently under development to provide ultralow friction, environmentally robust concrete barrier coatings that prevent vehicle rollover during high speed concrete barrier collisions. Of particular importance for demanding aerospace environments, NanoSonic""s low-friction HybridSil coatings have independently validated high velocity sand and rain erosion durability, extreme abrasion resistance, icephobicity in excess of fluoropolymers, and demonstrated extreme UV weathering durability after more than 1,000 hours of ASTM G155 testing. The proposed VSRD coatings will be an extension of NanoSonic""s HybridSil material technology, which has drawn significant interest from the DoD for its unique ability to combine conventionally exclusive material properties and received an R & D 100 award. Transition success is ensured through multiple Phase III transition partners and an established pilot scale HybridSil manufacturing infrastructure. BENEFIT: Building from its extensive HybridSil technical foundation, NanoSonic will molecularly engineer its low-friction, abrasion and erosion protective HybridSil coating technology to function as a next-generation wear resistant, low-friction coating for the VSRD. Immediate benefits for the DoD will include drastically increased periods between refueling failure and substantially reduced life cycle costs. A rigorous statistical design of experiments correlating friction reduction and wear resistance with a host of compositional and morphological variables will be employed to rapidly identify synergistic interacting variables that afford paradigm breaking combinations of abrasion / erosion resistance and friction reduction in a one-part, moisture curing coating that is readily deposited using legacy spray and paint field maintenance equipment."
Realistic Test Methods for Aircraft Outer Mold Line Treatment Materials,FA8650-14-M-5072,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Keith Hill,PI,(540) 626-6266,khill@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: The goal of the Air Force program is to demonstrate custom test fixture(s), test methodology, and data collection protocol on COTS or otherwise available materials under ambient conditions. NanoSonic proposes to develop a repeatable and accurate test fixture, testing methodology, and data collection protocol to assess the durability of outer mold line treatment stack-ups applied to external joints of a high performance fighter and/or bomber aircraft. This will also utilize NanoSonic""s non-invasive nanostructured Metal Rubber sensor to detect damage (such as disbonds, delamination, and fiber breakage) in aircraft structural composites during testing. The damage detection system will be comprised of an array of NanoSonic""s self-assembled Metal Rubber sensors. This will be accomplished by applying our current Metal Rubber sensor technology in a non-invasive damage detection sensor system comprised of Metal Rubber sensor skins to detect mechanical degradation of composite aircraft structures under test scenarios. The overall objective is to develop a method of characterizing the qualified materials currently on platforms and prevent future materials from being qualified that have flaws not previously caught thus increasing aircraft up-time. BENEFIT: The proposed SBIR program would develop Metal Rubber sensor skin elements and arrays for the NDE/SHM of advanced aerospace composite materials and advance the current testing methodologies to a more representative state. Such sensor skins build directly on the development of Metal Rubber materials, and its modification and application to a number of different engineering problems. Due to its unique combined properties, Metal Rubber can be envisioned for use in a number of aerospace, electronics and biomedical systems. Important to the proposed program, and important to NanoSonic""s ability to build a commercialization plan around its Metal Rubber""family""of materials, is our ability to modify the properties of the material in order to meet specific design objectives. The ability to design and synthesize a wide range of polymers, and to co-process a similarly large range of nanoclusters in the material, opens up a large potential market area. Conceptually similar but functionally different nanocomposites are also being developed for other applications by NanoSonic based on our Metal Rubber Family of materials, in the electronics, aerospace and defense and biomedical engineering areas. Metal Rubber based materials and textiles are available for sale through our website pictured right, www.nanosonic.com, in limited sizes and shapes and with a limited number of properties; and in scaled amounts with custom properties tailored for each customer via contracting."
HIGHLY FLAME RESISTANT HYBRIDSIL ENERGY ABSORPTION TRIM MATERIALS FOR USE WITHIN MILITARY VEHICLE INTERIORS,W56HZV-14-C-0171,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2014,1,100000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vince Baranauskas,PI,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"Through the proposed Army SBIR program, NanoSonic will create, qualify and integrate pioneering flame resistant, energy absorbing HybridSil trim materials for next-generation vehicle occupant protection during blast, crash and rollover events. This program will build from NanoSonic""s rapidly growing fire protective HybridSil polymeric armor technology which has independently validated ballistic / blast durability in excess of polyureas, transitions to flexible insulating silicate networks at elevated temperatures with negligible smoke toxicity, and has an established health rating of zero. Further, NanoSonic""s HybridSil FR armor has undergone extensive fire evaluation (ASTM E-1354, ASTM E-1321, ASTM E-84) and has passed the full scale ISO 9705 room corner burn test for qualification as a""fire restrictive material""per the IMO. Harnessing with this established technical base, NanoSonic will molecularly engineer its HybridSil FR polymeric armor for next-generation energy absorption capabilities by empirically identifying and optimizing structure property interdependencies affording head impact criterion<1000 HICd 15ms at 15 mph. In support of a near term Phase III transition into combat vehicle trim packages, HybridSil resins have a current production capacity of 8,000 lbs / day, an MRL of 6, and have been integrated onto combat active DoD platforms for trial demonstrations."
"LOW-COST, EASILY APPLIED VOC-FREE HYBRIDSIL CRES PIPE LEAK REPAIRING RESINS",N00024-14-P-4568,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,80000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vince Baranauskas,PI,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"Through the proposed NAVY SBIR program, NanoSonic will create and qualify a low-cost, easily applied VOC-free HybridSil CRES pipe leak repairing resin that will readily seal pressurized leaking pipes and prevent crevice corrosion on in-service Aircraft carriers while underway. NanoSonic""s HybridSil CRES leak repairing material will build from NanoSonic""s anticorrosion coating technology which has undergone extensive corrosion qualification, demonstrated exceptional solvent resistance to JP-5 fuel, has self-cleaning characteristics within actual marine environments, strong adhesion to metallic substrates without the need for extensive surface preparation or primers and is currently undergoing sea trials on a U.S. Navy vessel. Of particular importance for interior integration, HybridSil has exceptional fire resistance and is certified as a""fire restrictive material""per the IMO. Building from this technical foundation, NanoSonic will adapt its HybridSil Anticorrosion coating technology to serve as a VOC-free, welded joint leak sealant that will cure within seconds of deposition to stop existing leaks while also affording the environmental durability necessary to last as long as the base piping installation. A rigorous statistical design of experiments will be employed to down-select Phase I nanocomposites. Transition success is ensured through multiple Phase III transition partners and an established pilot scale HybridSil manufacturing infrastructure."
"HYBRIDSIL ANTI-ICING, ICEPHOBIC COATINGS FOR U.S. NAVY SUPERSTRUCTURES",N00014-14-P-1245,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,80000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vince Baranauskas,PI,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"Through the proposed Navy STTR program, NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will create, qualify, and commercially transition a paradigm breaking HybridSil anti-icing and icephobic coating specifically engineered for extreme environmental durability, ease of application, and low-cost for U.S. Navy ship superstructures. The offered nanocomposite coating will leverage NanoSonic""s anti-icing and icephobic coating technology which is currently under development to provide military drones with next-generation, environmentally robust passive ice protection. Of particular importance for demanding naval environments, NanoSonic""s HybridSil coatings have U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) validated icephobicity, independently validated extended corrosion protection on LPD-21 RCS screens in excess of MIL-PRF-24635 topcoats, UDRI demonstrated high velocity sand and rain erosion durability, extreme abrasion resistance, and extreme UV weathering durability after more than 2,000 hours of ASTM G155 testing. Transition success is ensured through multiple Phase III transition partners and an established pilot scale HybridSil manufacturing infrastructure."
Semiconductor Nanomembrane based Sensors for High Frequency Pressure Measurements,FA9550-14-C-0014,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Hang Ruan,PI,(540) 626-6266,hruan@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: The Air Force Phase I program would develop and demonstrate semiconductor nanomembrane (NM) based sensors and arrays for high frequency pressure measurements, using SOI (Silicon on Insulator) NM technique in combination with our pioneering HybridsilTM copolymer nanocomposite materials. NanoSonic would work cooperatively with Virginia Tech to develop an improved mechanical and electrical model of semiconductor nanomembrane based sensor performance that will allow quantitative optimization of material properties and suggest optimal methods for sensor attachment and use for high frequency measurement applications. We will perform synthesis of sensor skin materials with optimized transduction, hysteresis and environmental properties, specifically for high Reynold""s number flow and also varying temperature use. We will fabricate patterned two-dimensional sensor arrays and internal electronics using optimized materials. NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will perform complete analysis of sensor cross-sensitivities and noise sources to allow optimization of signal-to-noise ratio and practical sensor sensitivity. Support electronics will be developed to acquire, multiplex, store and process raw sensor array data. NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will also experimentally validate sensor array performance through extended water and wind tunnel evaluation, and possible flight testing with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and produce a first-generation high temperature high frequency pressure sensor array and data acquisition electronics system for sale. BENEFIT: Primary customers would be university, government laboratory and aerospace industry researchers. Small, unmanned air vehicles large enough to carry the extra load associated with electronics and power, and operationally sophisticated enough to require air data sensors would be a likely first military platform use. Distributed pressure mapping on air vehicles as well as in biomedical devices and other systems may have merit. Further, the thin film shear sensor elements may be used as air flow or water flow devices in systems where either the low weight, low surface profile, lack of need for space below the flow surface, or high sensitivity at a low cost are needed."
Development of Middle School and High School STEM Programs in ITS and CV Technologies,DTRT57-14-C-10036,DOT,DOT,SBIR,2014,1,124994.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa P. Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Richard O. Claus,"CEO, Principal Investigator",(540) 626-6266,roclaus@nanosonic.com,"NanoSonic will work with the Giles County, Virginia,school system,and Leidos,
a developer of ITS NanoSonic will work with the Giles County, Virginia,school
system,and Leidos,a developer of ITS and CV technologies,to create and deliver
a set of STEM lesson plans involving ITS and CV concepts. With Leidos transportation engineers, NanoSonic will identify project ideas,and with
Giles County STEM teachers and curriculum developers translate those
ideas into STEM lesson plans. NanoSonic and Leidos have strong backgrounds
in science and engineering, and Giles County educators have strong backgrounds
in curriculum development,coordinating lesson plans with appropriate
Standards Of Learning, and understanding what works in the classroom.
During Phase I,STEM lessons will be developed for Middle and High
School students. During Phase II,these plans will be used in three
Giles County schools during the first year and expanded to all Giles
County schools during the second year. The teaching effectiveness
of the plans will be evaluated using established estimate techniques.
At the High School level,the STEM programs will be coordinated with
course, college and career counseling. During Phase II,NanoSonic will
work with the Giles County school system to disseminate developed
STEM lessons through the STEM Innovation Network,the National Association
of Secondary School Principals,and other channels.and CV technologies,
to create and deliver a set of STEM lesson plans involving ITS and
CV concepts. With Leidos transportation engineers, NanoSonic will identify
project ideas, and with Giles County STEM teachers and curriculum developers
translate those ideas into STEM lesson plans. NanoSonic and Leidos have
strong backgrounds in science and engineering, and Giles County educators
have strong backgrounds in curriculum development,coordinating lesson
plans with appropriate Standards Of Learning, and understanding what works
in the classroom. During Phase I, STEM lessons will be developed for
Middle and High School students. During Phase II,these plans will be used
in three Giles County schools during the first year and expanded to all
Giles County schools during the second year. The teaching effectiveness
of the plans will be evaluated using established estimate techniques.
At the High School level,the STEM programs will be coordinated with course,
college and career counseling. During Phase II, NanoSonic will work with
the Giles County school system to disseminate developed STEM lessons
through the STEM Innovation Network, the National Association of Secondary
School Principals,and other channels."
EM Tailored Thoraeus Rubber for SATCOM Sensors with Enhanced Survivability,FA9453-14-C-0298,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,750000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,PI,(540) 626-6266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: NanoSonic has successfully transitioned our high-strength-to-weight ratio, flexible, yet high strength, aramid-based, noble metal nanoparticle modified metamaterials into EM tailored Thoraeus Rubber & #61652; (TR) composites. During Phase I, NanoSonic demonstrated ultra-low mass density (0.58 g/cc) Metal Rubber-Kevlar Veil (MR-KV) composites with uniform transmission loss (up to 100 dB loss at 2 18 GHz) that maintain EM properties under mechanical strain down to -50°C, upon extreme heat (blow torch exposure), and at low frequency post irradiation under a 60Co source. These tough composites resist damaging chemicals, are nickel-free to mitigate galvanic corrosion, and shall be transitioned onto Satellite Communication (SATCOM) systems as a simple and cost effective material solution to assure electronics protection (EP) on space-based Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) against harsh natural or manmade EM environments. NanoSonic has partnered with Lockheed Martin (LM) to verify survivability under intense EM and radiation threats. LM shall assist with qualifying TR materials using MIL-STD techniques (e.g. MIL-STD-188-146) to verify shielding effectiveness performance against a variety of radiating EM sources to confirm that it can be utilized with existing aeronautical equipment that requires high levels of EM shielding. BENEFIT: NanoSonic would primarily develop its Metal Rubber modified Kevlar based composites as part of the Thoraeus Rubber (TR) family of materials as a super lightweight shielding alternative to heavy metal containers, metal foils, and other heavy attached shielding structures. The innovative lightweight TR nanocomposites would be primarily transitioned to protect sensors/circuits within space vehicles and aircraft against harsh EM environments. Our unique TR composites shall serve a broad range of military and civilian applications including avionic and communication systems on board commercial aircraft from low energy personal electronic devices to higher onboard stray radar energy. Dual-use military applications for various forms of TR nanocomposites include highly mechanically robust EMI and radiation shielding appliques. Additional applications include lightning strike protection and RF shielding for large area structures and sensors. Additional dual-use civil applications for TR include civilian electronic shielding applications such as cellular phones, sensitive electronics in electronically""noisy""environments, and sensor systems which may require above average lightweight shielding materials. Additional civil and homeland security applications include garments for the U.S. warfighter, first responders to environments with radiation dispersal devices or dirty bombs, and medical physicians/patients that may be exposed to radiation. Conceptually similar multifunctional nanocomposites are being developed for other applications by NanoSonic based on our Metal Rubber and HybridSil Family of materials, in the electronics, aerospace and defense and biomedical engineering areas. Metal Rubber based materials and textiles are available for sale through our website, www.nanosonic.com, in limited sizes and shapes and with a limited number of properties; and in scaled amounts with custom properties tailored for each customer via contracting."
"High-Efficiency, High-Power Density III-V Multijunction Solar Cells on Si and Hybridsil",N68335-14-C-0346,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,80000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Hang Ruan,PI,(540) 626-6266,hruan@nanosonic.com,"This DOD Phase I STTR program would develop III-V multijunction based solar cells, using Virginia Tech""s InGaP/GaAs/InGaAs multijunction cells technique in combination with NanoSonic""s pioneering Hybridsil antireflection copolymer nanocomposite materials, which afford high levels of antireflection, temperature and abrasion resistance, impact durability and hydrophobicity (self cleaning). Such an approach to form flexible PV materials and devices offers advantages over dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon based flexible PV devices, in that much higher energy efficiency can be obtained on flexible substrates with large area manufacturing and processing. The central theme of our proposal is to demonstrate heterogeneously integrated high efficiency III-V multijunction solar cells on cheaper, larger diameter and readily available Si substrate as well as solar cells through epitaxial release from Si. The released multijunction structures will be transferred to NanoSonic""s highly transparent, super lightweight and mechanically robust Hybridsil materials to be integrated into flexible PV devices. NanoSonic""s Hybridsil composites will be used not only as the substrates but also the antireflection coatings to enhance the device efficiency."
Rapid Qualification of Additive Manufacturing Processes with Mechanics and NDE Modeling,FA8650-14-M-5052,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"NDE Technologies, Inc.",1785 Sourwood Place,,Charlottesville,VA,22911-,No,No,No,Irving Gray,President,(434) 973-0299,irving.gray@ndetechnologies.com,Irving Gray,Project Mgr/Principal Investigator,(434) 973-0299,irving.gray@ndetechnologies.com,"ABSTRACT: This work develops a simulation framework and demonstrates a methodology to integrate nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and stress analysis to cost effectively assess the ability to detect critical defects as determined by an assessment using a simulation environment of damage growth based on material properties, part shape and local stress fields. Integrating emerging simulation tools in NDE, stress analysis and damage evolution we demonstrate a powerful approach to lifing assessment using a damage tolerance approach, thus providing a key component in the emerging additive manufacturing processes. Integrating XRSIM (NDE simulation), DARWIN (damage evolution) and NESSUS (optimization tools), for the first time, demonstrates a means that accurately captures the relationship between critical AM design cycle parameters with defect morphology in NDE and damage evolution. Key for this integration is developing quantitative and part appropriate probability of detection curves needed for accurate lifing analysis yielding a significant cost reduction by reducing the need to rely on extensive experimental POD curves. A plan to address verification, validation and uncertainty quantification in the use of models and simulations for rapid qualification is provided. The Honeywell, Southwest Research Institute and NDE Technologies partnership in this project positions us to further dovetail with ongoing DARPA AM programs. BENEFIT: This project proposes to enable rapid qualification of AM processes through the development of a methodology that accurately captures the relationships between key manufacturing parameters and the resulting product, including location-specific microstructure, defects, material properties, inspectability, and damage tolerance. This methodology will, in the short term, integrate predictive models for non-destructive evaluation (NDE), stress analysis, and damage tolerance (DT) simulations, by leveraging our expertise and existing products XRSIM, NESSUS and DARWIN. In the longer term, the methodology will also broaden the integration to include simulations of the manufacturing process and microstructure-property relationships. Significant design cycle time savings are possible by identifying the best process parameters needed for an optimized design, allowing for a faster response time to engineering changes and requirements that will enable the full range of AM benefits. An additional benefit is for simulation methods to generate NDE POD curves. We are planning to demonstrate several methods, 1. Directly from XRSIm, 2. Using XRSIM to supply Monte Carlo simulation or response curves. These results combined with Nessus generate POD curves. Cost savings are huge in that a demonstrated means to generate meaningful POD curves if only from a reduction of the sample costs. Specific cost savings to additive manufacturing users will come from a reduction in the number of rejected parts. When a virtual inspection is performed, lots of virtual parts can be scrapped at first. As the process is adjusted the number of virtual part rejections reaches an acceptable level. If the model has been properly calibrated and V & V""d, this will lead to fewer scrapped parts. The cost reduction is directly proportional to the reduction in rejected parts. Two major components of the proposed integrated modeling environment, DARWIN and XRSIM, are already successful commercial products in certain markets. Their integration and further development here will result in significant expansion of their commercial potential, including for example, selling XRSIM to current DARWIN customers, and selling DARWIN to current XRSIM customers. Exposure to other, particularly non-aerospace, industries is expected as these industries begin to implement DMLS and other AM processes. Since these two software programs are both mature and supported by existing marketing and sales organizations, expansion into these new markets will be expedited."
Data Compression for Bandwidth Constrained Environments,N00024-14-C-4064,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,749237.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Nik Keapproth,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,nkeapproth@progeny.net,"Progeny Systems will prototype a robust ship-to-shore communication capability that adds superior compression, allowing for all of today""s and tomorrow""s diagnostic data transport needs to be accommodated using existing shipboard hardware and operating doctrines. Our approach, demonstrated in the Phase I of this topic, allows for very efficient lossless compression and even more efficient lossy compression. We will develop automated data analysis tools to selectively apply the most effective compression techniques to domains within a given data set with optional guidance from a user, providing the benefits of 100% retention of data where required, while minimizing the sizes of subsets of data that are less sensitive. Through these techniques we will empower operators to easily prepare data sets requiring a tiny fraction of the size required using today""s technologies. This dramatic reduction in required bandwidth will enable sought-after capabilities including distance support and fleet-level datamining."
Command and Control of Dynamic Traffic Prioritization (C2DTP) to Enable Mission-Responsive Crypto-Partitioned Networks,FA8750-14-C-0184,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149367.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Support,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Guy Shepherd,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,gshepherd@progeny.net,"ABSTRACT: Today""s data prioritization structures are designed to meet the needs of the mission as well as the technology permits a single""stack""of priorities is implemented and used to evaluate traffic relative to its competitors in the queue. But the missions of today""s Air Force continue to broaden including such disparate activities as traditional air supremacy, intelligence collection, humanitarian operations, missile defense, and others. Each mission is likely to place different emphasis on data of different types to best convey the information most relevant to mission success. Just as critically, the determination of the relevance of a particular piece of information to the mission may be dependent on details of the data itself, rather than simply the transport, protocol, source, or destination. For example, while contact reports are important, a contact reported outside the area of operations may be less important than for a contact approaching the force. Today""s prioritization rules are stratified by priorities whose granularity permits only comparisons between data types, and not their contents. A more flexible and capable system is needed to permit more intelligent and mission-oriented prioritization of data on Air Force networks. BENEFIT: The approach described in this proposal can be adapted to any dynamic network, either at a system/subsystem level or at an asset level. Regardless of the implementation point, it is supported by a coordinated multi-node management framework that can be applied to many disparate situations or network types. Examples of organizations that could apply a managed bandwidth allocation and prioritization tool include any location served by a limited bandwidth that aggregates data from multiple input sources. This includes aircraft communication systems, unmanned systems, shipboard radio rooms, and headquarters communications sites. The approach we are proposing is tailored to military systems due to the promulgation model for information priority profiles: this structure for command by a designated authority pervades the military, including autonomous or unmanned systems. Therefore we believe that for any case where an information exchange node is not guaranteed to be adequately serviced by its available communications resources, if there is a command and control (C2) structure in place, the approach described in this proposal could be applied with additional consideration only for the specific information types and integration with the targeted hardware and software environment. Possible applications focusing on a simple-to-use GUI to select data prioritization needs based on operator preference or predefined rule sets could be leveraged within several commercial ventures. VPNs depend on tunneling protocols that encrypt data at the sending end and decrypt at the receiving end, so having the benefit of prioritizing this data before encryption could increase the overall network throughput and reduce network latency. A CAD worker who uses a VPN to connect to his company""s internal network could set up a rule set to give a higher priority to CAD updates as opposed to emails and voice mail. A gaming network could also use a rule set to make reports about hacking attempts its highest priority. Additionally the flexibility of the GUI allows these rule sets to be changed when conditions change. Dynamic prioritization allows a user to adjust prioritization based on current or upcoming conditions. Just this feature along would be of great interest to many commercial endeavors."
Innovative Velocity Sensors,N00024-14-P-4507,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79764.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Dave Baird,Principal Investigator,(801) 359-4566,dbaird@progeny.net,"The Navy has identified needs to improve performance of submarines to decrease vulnerability and increase maneuverability. Currently, the Navy is developing technologies for building and installing large SONAR arrays external to the hull of a submarine. These technologies allow for a lightweight, scalable array which provides many options for installation and deployment. Integral to these arrays are the acoustic particle velocity sensors. There are several velocity sensors available for use: however, these sensors do not meet the improved sensor sensitivity desired by the Navy in order to increase the capability of submarine flank SONAR arrays. In addition, current sensor technology does not meet all the sensor environmental requirements that come with being installed on a submarine external to the pressure hull. The Navy needs an innovative sensor solution that can meet all the performance, form factor, and environmental requirements while striving to reduce per channel cost. This requires innovation at the design level to trade off all the performance and environmental requirements against packaging of the sensor as well as to facilitate automation during the production phase."
Submarine Combat Systems Advanced Processor Build (APB) Operations Learning Environment,N00024-14-P-4510,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79299.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Michael Hertz,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,mhertz@progeny.net,Progeny proposes to utilize industry best practices to transition stand-alone physical training environments into virtualized environments that are integrated to existing and fielded Learning Management Systems (LMS). The virtualized training environments allow for the decoupling of training systems from the tactical system hardware that is refreshed according to the APB process. Progeny proposes to provide the Sponsor with a CMMI Level III compliant Decision Analysis and Resolution (DAR) to provide a roadmap to dramatically reduce the Total Ownership Cost (TOC) of training Hardware and training systems in general.
Advanced Submarine Monitoring with Improved Diagnostics and Prognostics,N00024-14-P-4513,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79540.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Michael Mullen,Principal Investigator,(703) 304-2402,michael.mullen@progeny.net,"Progeny Systems will develop a low power wireless sensor system that enables high bandwidth transient capture and analysis, which will create actionable conditioned based maintenance (CBM) information at the node. Since the capture of high bandwidth transients and synchronized data acquisition exceed the total amount of wireless data that can be transmitted continuously, the solution to be developed will work within the constraints of the bandwidth provided by a wireless network. Due to the power requirements of constant monitoring for the capture and analysis of transient events, the solution will fully leverage energy harvesting in order to reduce total ownership costs, as well as extend the life of the nodes."
Automated Ultrasonic Fuel and Lube Oil Sensors (UFLOS),N00024-14-P-4549,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79861.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,John Sevick,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,jsevick@progeny.net,"Effective on-board testing of fuel and lube oil quality is critical to maintaining equipment condition and preventing operating machinery shutdowns. Primary concerns are contaminants such as particulates (dirt, rust and metallic flakes, catalyst fines), water, and microbiological material and maintaining proper lubricating oil viscosity. Current testing procedures. Current U.S. Navy fuel and lube oil quality measurements utilize a series of manually labor intensive ASTM procedures and test kits. A real-time, low maintenance, easily integrated, compact sensor-based device to measure and report Navy or standard commercial values of water and particulate contamination and viscosity could provide several advantages over current techniques. Progeny Systems proposes to analytically and empirically investigate two ultrasonic modalities for application in fuel and oil contaminant measurement, including both concentration and particle count, and for application in viscosity measurement. This research leverages Progeny""s previous research and experience in applying ultrasonic methods of detection, classification, and sizing of microscopic contaminants (bubbles, solid particles, biologics, water, oil) in flowing liquids. At the end of Phase I a proof of concept demonstration will be provided using real data from a flow circuit filled with Navy grade fuel or lubricants."
System-agnostic Mission Data Recording and Reconstruction for Surface Combatants,N00024-14-P-4557,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79742.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Athena Caul,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,acaul@progeny.net,"Progeny Systems will design an architecture for a recording, playback and reconstruction system to meet Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) requirements. The system will employ data agnostic interfaces to record heterogeneous data with a scalable and modular architecture to support mission reconstruction and data analysis. Investigation will evaluate open source formats to employ for standardized data collections. The design will include centralized, modular storage and COTS hardware for data storage, retrieval, and off hull media generation. The design will provide data access to support system-wide data playback, reconstruction, onboard data mining and training enhancing the effectiveness of the LCS combat systems."
Intelligent Information Algorithm for Electronic and Computer Network Systems,N00024-14-P-4579,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79876.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Nik Keapproth,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,nkeapproth@progeny.net,Progeny Systems proposes to develop and test an innovative system to enable sharing and collaboration of maintenance and operations documentation. Our approach integrates collaborative crowd-sourcing techniques and fault recognition / pattern identification algorithms into logistics product dissemination and management processes.
Net-Centric Collaborative Environment for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS),N00024-14-P-4582,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79442.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Matt Fisher,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,mfisher@progeny.net,"Our approach is to develop a multi-faceted solution including 1) a framework for next-generation direct-input and gesture driven displays, 2) an innovative event timeline widget to show chronological heterogeneous data in a single view and 3) a collaborate data space for promoting data objects and dynamically associating them with system actions for simplified operations in complex environments with multiple displays and multiple applications. A sample action includes,""Send TDA to chat user X""."
Development of Characterization of Failure Modes for Mechanical Components,N00014-14-P-1208,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,79967.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Mike King,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,mike.king@progeny.net,"A database-driven approach is needed which characterizes the failure modes of the mechanical components of submarine systems under extreme loadings. Such an application must provide automation of the component shock qualification process through an automated capability while providing component-level qualification based upon similarity of components and failure modes. Certification of shock worthiness of new components may then be deduced through an""extension""process (in which new components that are similar in physical aspect, shipboard installation and intended use, to a previously""qualified""component) and may be certified based upon the certification of those similar components. Leveraging rules with a software reasoner allows for the automatic generation of new facts such as certification through the extension process."
Cognitive Radio Spectrum Management and Waveform Adaptation for Advanced Wideband Space Communication Systems,FA9453-14-C-0063,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,2,743636.00,Shared Spectrum Company,1593 Spring Hill Road,Suite 700,Vienna,VA,-,No,No,No,Mark McHenry,President&CTO,(703) 462-6943,mmchenry@sharedspectrum.com,Umair Ahsan,Communications Systems Engineer,(703) 761-2818,uahsan@sharedspectrum.com,"ABSTRACT: Shared Spectrum Company (SSC) partners with Virginia Tech (VT) to develop resilient and agile space communication systems using innovative cognitive radio techniques. The objective of this STTR Phase II project is to develop anti-jamming capability using frequency agility provided by Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technology for satellite communications (SATCOM) systems. The SSC team focuses on implementation and testing of new satellite dynamic frequency and power allocation algorithms developed using game theory in Phase II by building a SATCOM testbed leveraging existing DSA radios and new components. This technology enables future protection and security for broadband SATCOM systems from existing and new hostile radio frequency (RF) threats. Additionally, our approach is a critical foundation toward supporting DoD operational needs, to support spectrum sharing, and to manage SATCOM networks quickly, efficiently, and securely. Improved spectrum management is a main priority and tenet of the DoD CIO Mobility Strategy. BENEFIT: DSA is a technology developed for terrestrial radio systems to create frequency agile radios and networks. DSA increases capacity by pooling and sharing of spectrum, and greatly increases the ability to escape jamming by use of frequency agility. DSA can be adapted to the SATCOM environment to offer immediate anti-jamming benefits via frequency agility."
Decision Making under Uncertainty for Dynamic Spectrum Access,FA9453-14-M-0002,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,149932.00,Shared Spectrum Company,1593 Spring Hill Road,Suite 700,Vienna,VA,-,No,No,No,Mark McHenry,President&CTO,(703) 462-6943,mmchenry@sharedspectrum.com,Mark McHenry,President and CTO,(703) 462-6943,mmchenry@sharedspectrum.com,"ABSTRACT: SSC and VT develop algorithms and approaches to manage uncertainty in dynamic spectrum access (DSA) systems for small satellite constellations. We use various DSA rule sets such as sensing, database, and monitoring systems to reduce the uncertainty on a systems level. We investigate uncertainty modeling using Dempster-Schafer theory to build belief, disbelief and ignorance maps of spectrum usage. Finally, we use stochastic programming to perform optimization under uncertainty for real-time systems. We develop a DSA satellite scenario using a constellation of small satellites that are agile and cost-effective. BENEFIT: Dynamic spectrum access significantly increases the access to spectrum with harvesting and sharing through a flexible approach to spectrum access. SSC has focused on taking our initiatives developed for the DoD and transitioning them to both the DoD primes and to the commercial market. We are having success in both DoD and commercial sectors."
Develop Valid Performance Measures for Multi-tasking Environments,M67854-14-C-0203,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,748763.00,"SimVentions, Inc.",11905 Bowman Dr,Suite 502,Fredericksburg,VA,22408-7344,No,No,No,Stephen Goss,CFO,(540) 372-7727,finance@simventions.com,James White,Principal Investigator,(540) 372-7727,jwhite@simventions.com,"There is a critical real-time cycle of dependency between knowing, deciding and acting that will provide Program Managers (PMs) the ability to find the most efficient path to bring programs together to deliver coordinated capability to the warfighter. SimVentions has developed technology for the creation and use of multi-tasking (MT) models. An MT model can be thought of as an algorithm for analyzing the interplay of multiple tasks in a complex environment to provide insights to decision makers. This technology will be targeted to the PEO Land Systems (LS) Science and Technology Integration Center (STIC) to provide senior level government PMs a robust ability to track current and future capabilities, systems, and threats. Adding MT technology to SimVentions roadmapping capability in the company""s Program Management and Planning (PMaP) tools suite will provide PEO LS users with the ability to assimilate, collate, organize, analyze, and filter information in order to increase efficiency and the return on investments. Additionally, SimVentions will provide a fully integrated STIC with MT measures, capable of supporting multiple programs""roadmapping functions while enabling simultaneous access to a broad user base."
Framework for Mobile Services,N68335-14-C-0101,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,497695.00,"SimVentions, Inc.",11905 Bowman Dr,Suite 502,Fredericksburg,VA,22408-7344,No,No,No,Stephen Goss,CFO,(540) 372-7727,contracts@simventions.com,Bertram Chase,PI,(540) 372-7727,tchase@simventions.com,"With increasingly tighter budgets, reuse of software and hardware in DoD programs has become essential for delivering capabilities to warfighters. The current military aviation community procurement system does not promote the process of software and hardware reuse across different programs. In addition, the current aviation development community has not created sufficient standards to facilitate the reuse of software components across the military aviation fleet. To counter these trends, NAVAIR has developed FACE; designed to address the affordability initiatives of today""s military aviation community. This is where DEXTER steps in, as a set of tools that enables software interoperability by allowing users to visually build a communications bridge between applications that normally have no means of exchanging data. Development of plugins that incorporate FACE interfaces and plugins for currently unsupported communications mechanisms within the FACE would allow a variety of legacy and untapped software components to be reused with little to no effort in updating them to the FACE standards. This capability not only enables users to ensure data is routed correctly but also gives the user a very powerful debug and risk reduction tool. DEXTER can remove the need to redesign, rewrite, and retest software when integrating components and systems."
Automated Function Point Analysis,N00024-14-P-4575,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79971.00,"SimVentions, Inc.",11905 Bowman Dr,Suite 502,Fredericksburg,VA,22408-7344,No,No,No,Stephen Goss,CFO,(540) 372-7727,contracts@simventions.com,Bertram Chase,PI,(540) 372-7727,tchase@simventions.com,"The cost and complexity of fielding Navy combat systems has led to a paradigm shift from developing monolithic, complete system upgrades every 10 12 years to a product line architecture, and a capability phasing plan, that provides for more frequent, incremental upgrades. These incremental upgrades meet mission requirements and looming threats in a more timely fashion and provides""just in time""solutions for fleet needs. A major component of this approach is to re-use or capture existing software code from one incremental upgrade to the next to minimize redevelopment and retest as much as possible. Traditionally a standard metric for estimating the cost and impact of new and modified code has been to determine the number of Source Lines of Code (SLOCs) being developed or modified. The SLOC estimate methodology has been heavily leveraged by the Navy, but because of differing industry practices and the uncertainty involved in this type of estimation it has not been entirely effective. SimVentions supports the Navy""s desire to move to a Function Point Analysis (FPA) methodology and is proposing a three pronged approach, leveraging existing SimVentions SBIR technology to building an Automated Function Point Analysis tool."
Advancements in Object Discovery and Correlation (K2),FA9453-14-M-0149,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149913.00,"Solers, Inc.",950 N. Glebe Road,Suite 1100,Arlington,VA,22203-,No,No,No,Mike Leahey,"Vice President, Contracts",(703) 841-6186,mike.leahey@solers.com,Jonathan Erdman,"Chief Architect, K2",(703) 480-2440,jerdman@solers.com,"The US is increasingly dependent on space-based capabilities for communications, GPS navigation, and GEOINT and MASINT products to support modern warfighters. At the same time, space is becoming increasingly crowded and new threats are constantly emerging. Every unknown object in space poses a potential threat to US space operations, with possibilities ranging from inadvertent debris collisions to enemy malicious attacks. The objective of this SBIR project is to deliver faster and more accurate UCT processing and object discovery results to the space protection and analysis community to better protect our space-based assets and capabilities. As there is no""silver bullet""solution, our approach encompasses a number of methods including evaluating the effectiveness of existing algorithms, improving those algorithms where appropriate, incorporating new algorithms and methods into a SOA-based UCT processing workflow, and improving analyst tools and visualizations."
Total Fatigue Life Assessment of Complicated Structures,N68335-14-C-0093,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,2,499995.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Subhasis Sarkar,Senior Engineer,(703) 226-4069,ssarkar@tda-i.com,"For proper evaluation of fatigue life, it is imperative to have sophisticated analytical and computational tools to analyze crack growth in complex, aerospace structures subjected to severe loading conditions. In this study, the alternating Symmetric Galerkin Boundary Element Method (SGBEM)-Finite Element Method (FEM) technique, which is already a proven and established technique in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency, is refined further to handle complex crack growth situations. The tool will help in the study of surface or embedded 3D crack growing in non-coplanar mode, 2D through crack growing in non-collinear way and also in transitioning of 3D cracks into 2D cracks in thin walled aerospace structures. The BEM will be enriched, a novel crack growth model will be implemented, solvers for fatigue cracks will be improved, a software tool will be developed and a general structural life assessment framework will be integrated. A large number of benchmark problems will be solved to validate the methodology and some real life crack growth problems will be solved and compared with other techniques to demonstrate its superiority."
Innovative Method for Wirelessly Powering RFID Tags Located on Rotorcraft,N68335-14-C-0090,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,829985.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nagaraja Iyyer,Manager of Engineer Servi,(703) 226-4070,niyyer@tda-i.com,"TDA will collaborate with Missouri University of Science and Technology to design and develop modified tags with dynamically switching impedance using adaptive beam forming techniques for better read performance of target passive RFID tags. TDA will collaborate with Applied EM to study and develop systematic methodology for positioning the modified tags. TDA will also collaborate with Columbia University for enhancing the passive RFID tag performance through MIMO techniques and also investigate smart active networked tags system. The outcome of the Phase II effort will be prototype demonstrations in lab and simulated environments, and field tests of any matured products. TDA will closely work with RFID manufacturers to attain a higher probability of hardware system development."
Real Time Static and Dynamic Flight External Loads Analysis,FA9302-14-M-0003,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,148889.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Christopher Thaiss,Lead Senior Aerospace Engineer,(770) 516-7750,cthaiss@tda-i.com,"ABSTRACT: Flight testing is an inherently dangerous, but essential part of aircraft development. Aircrew safety is top priority; however, because of the nature of flight test as well as the cost to perform the testing, some risk is taken whenever the aircraft performs a test. In an effort to both increase safety as well as reduce test cost, TDA proposes to develop a system to rapidly produce aircraft external loads""predictions for the next flight test point based upon the entire set of aircraft test data from previous test points. A system that can perform this function will: (1) increase the safety of flight test because the models used for loads predictions will be updated in real-time based upon the measured response of the aircraft, and will allow the aircrew and engineers to see the latest model predictions rather than relying upon legacy predictions; (2) shorten the test program (and, thus, reduce test cost) due to a reduction in the number of incremental build-up test points; (3) provide engineering with a fully validated aircraft loads model which becomes more accurate as more test points are flown with minimal test crew interaction; and (4) offer rapid and accurate turn-around of test predictions. BENEFIT: Anticipated benefits include increased flight test safety, reduced flight test costs and schedule, more accurate flight test loads prediction, more rapid and accurate test turnaround time, and reduction in required test points. Potential commercial applications of this effort include software deployment to DoD and commercial aircraft companies""aircraft test organizations. DoD RDT & E funding requests for FY14 is $67.6B. Embedded in this cost is the time and manpower necessary to ensure flight testing is done safely and effectively. Establishing confidence in loads predictions is key to helping expedite test programs and reduce the total cost required for DoD aircraft acquisition as well as the development and test cost incurred by the aircraft manufacturers."
Thick Composite Crack Analysis,N68335-15-C-0044,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,248665.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 237-1300,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nicole Apetre,Senior Aerospace Engineer,(703) 226-4076,napetre@tda-i.com,"Composite materials have emerged as the materials of choice for increasing the performance and reducing the weight and cost of military aircraft. Nevertheless, reliable prediction of composites behavior in both static and cyclic load situations are far from complete, due to limitations of current analysis methods and to uncertainty and statistical variation of composite behavior under a given set of environment and loading exposure. In this SBIR effort, TDA team focuses on applying the knowledge gained from classical damage mechanics in a Peridynamics framework - specifically concentrating on manufacturing defects and their impact on the composites performance under a variety of loading conditions. The required analytical expressions are developed in the framework of continuum damage mechanics by suitable micromechanical computations. Lessons learned in this field will be used to model manufacturing defects in Peridynamics. The methodology will be applied to a variety of laminate layups and the predictions will be compared with experiments and independent FE simulations wherever applicable."
Innovative Unified Damage Mechanisms-Based Model to Predict Remaining Useful Life for Rotorcraft Structures,N68335-14-C-0351,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,79988.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 237-1300,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Mehdi Amiri,Senior Aerospace Engineer,(703) 226-4079,mamiri@tda-i.com,"Most of current available methods for prediction of fatigue failure -such as cumulative damage models, cyclic plastic energy hypothesis, crack propagation rate models, and empirically-derived relationships -are based on empirical relations and their application requires many unknown parameters that must be experimentally determined or calibrated for specific locations/critical areas. Also, the aforementioned methods concentrate on specific types of loading and single fatigue modes, i.e., bending, or torsion, or tension-compression. In practice, however, fatigue involves simultaneous interaction of multimode processes. Further, their use and execution requires consideration of large factors of safety, often leading to gross over designs that waste resources and cost more fleet maintenance. In this STTR effort, we therefore focus on applying fundamentals of physics and mechanical principles to predict fatigue damage and remaining useful life (RUL) of metals under a variety of loading and environmental conditions. The proposed RUL approach is mechanism-based with little or no reliance on phenomenological parameters. First we develop physics basis for fatigue damage initiation and accumulation via irreversible thermodynamic framework by a detailed study of damage accumulation at the micro-meso-macro scales with and without environmental elements, then use this basic modeling information for prediction of RUL via measured changes in the field."
Information Sharing between the Global Information Grid (GIG) and the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) system,FA8750-14-c-0277,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,2,1492971.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing D,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Michael Blake,Project Manager,(919) 388-1262,michael.blake@tridsys.com,"ABSTRACT: Currently, there is no certified, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based solution for cross-domain voice and video. More specifically, combatant commands and other agencies have requirements to enable users across different security networks to initiate and receive direct cross-domain audio and videophone calls, and to participate in audio conference calls. To address this need, Trident has developed the Voice and Video Cross Domain Solution (V2 CDS), which is a system that enables secure voice and video communications between differently classified networks. This initial V2 CDS system has been developed under previous SBIR funding. V2 CDS is currently at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5. A TRL 9 Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is required at the EUCOM site in Stuttgart, Germany to interconnect their Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) and US Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation Systems (BICES) networks. Under this proposed effort, Trident will design and implement requisite security controls, additional functional requirements (VoSIP, multiple LDAP servers), as well as implement changes to ensure interoperability with currently deployed infrastructure. Trident will also address findings identified during Security Design Review (SDR) and Technical Exchange Meetings, as well as findings identified during testing. BENEFIT: The anticipated benefits of this proposed work includes the development of a certifiable solution for secure, cross-domain voice and video calls based on industry standard protocols. V2 CDS provides a new capability and will benefit the warfighter by significantly improving mission effectiveness and reducing the cost of redundant equipment used for different classified networks."
Service-Oriented Architecture for Naval Strike Force Interoperability Readiness,M67854-14-C-6521,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,2,959699.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing D,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Jason Reynolds,Sr. Systems Engineer,(703) 267-6741,jreynolds@tridsys.com,"The objective of this effort is to develop the Integrated Combat System (ICS) for use in tactical vehicles within the Marine Corps Networking-On-The-Move (NOTM) program. The ICS provides a consolidated view for tactical Command & Control (C2) operations, enabling the capability to operate all C2 systems from each display/interface, along with logging and monitoring of vehicle system status for data analysis and maintenance. This effort includes hardware design, development and integration to support integral vehicular sensors, data logging capability, and data interfaces to existing engine sensors. A software suite will also be developed and integrated to include the sensors/logging interface and integrated with an open-source framework developed by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SPAWARSYSCEN). This framework allows for consolidation of hardware within the vehicle, and provides flexibility for future electronic systems integration, and for transition to other vehicles. At the completion of the effort Trident will have built, delivered and integrated two (2) fully functional ICS systems in NOTM vehicles."
GaN Technology for GPS L-band Space Power Amplification,FA9453-14-M-0086,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,144270.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing Director,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Jim Hopkins,Principal RF Engineer,(703) 267-2306,jim.hopkins@tridsys.com,"ABSTRACT: Research Proposed: Research is proposed to investigate the feasibility of an innovative push-pull configured GaN power amplifier design for space GPS navigation using a novel harmonic transformer to achieve a radiation tolerant, increased bandwidth, 400W output power and 60% power-added efficiency (PAE). Problem Statement: Power amplifiers are notoriously inefficient when running linear enough to support communications such as GPS. A power amplifier will become more efficient as the amplifier approaches saturation; however, this makes the amplifier less linear and distortion causes errors. Backing off an amplifier increases linearity but decreases efficiency and requires more size, weight and power. Recent research shows that Class E or F designs can achieve much higher efficiencies, although these methods tend to be more narrowband and non-linear at higher efficiencies. Using a true Class B Push-Pull design with an improved harmonic transformer, much lower distortion and harmonic levels can be achieved while maintaining high power and efficiency. Plan/Process Outline: The Push-Pull amplifier will be designed in detail, then modeled and optimized to obtain an accurate view of system performance. This model will be simulated and validated against the requirements to determine feasibility. 400W output power and 60% PAE will be required for feasibility. BENEFIT: If this innovation is successful, today""s high energy consumption power amplifiers can be replaced with this new design which will provide dramatically higher efficiency at lower size, weight and power while still meeting performance requirements. This will be a revolutionary change that will result in power amplifier manufacturers adopting the approach, leading to systematic changes in how amplification is approached in both communications and electronic warfare."
On-Orbit Reprogrammable Digital Waveform Generator for GPS,FA9453-14-M-0108,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149958.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing Director,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Michael Viazanko,Prin. Systems Engineer,(703) 691-7760,michael.viazanko@tridsys.com,"ABSTRACT: Continuing technological advances in GPS capabilities offer potential for improvement in performance, with continual improvements in satellite network performance and resilience; however, current GPS satellites do not support on-orbit update of waveform generation techniques. What is needed is a much more flexible waveform generation capability, one that can support on-orbit upgrades, operating reliably in the demanding 20,000km Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) environment, all with reduced size, weight, power, and cost. Trident Systems proposes the development of an On-orbit Reprogrammable Digital Waveform Generator (ORDWG) based on our extensive programmable FPGA-based RF/DSP radar system heritage that will meet the challenging reprogrammable space payload and environmental requirements as needed by the Air Force. Our approach utilizes our proven RAPTOR Virtex-5-FPGA-based wideband digital RF transceiver, currently being transitioned to a Virtex-5QV space-qualified unit under NASA funding. Our strong space environment design experience enables an ORDWG design that will support a broad range of GPS and PNT missions, and have extensibility to other modes and digital RF applications. To comprehensively address all details of GPS signal generation, Trident is partnering with NAVSYS Corporation, a recognized innovator in PNT/GPS technologies, including software-defined GPS implementations and advanced navigation & timing techniques. BENEFIT: The successful development of this On-orbit Reprogrammable Digital Waveform Generator provides the Government with a highly capable, flexible component for increasing the resilience and performance of the GPS network, and enables future upgrades to waveform techniques on-orbit, enhancing capabilities in rapid response to changing tactical conditions."
Automated Function Point Analysis,N00024-14-P-4574,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,76817.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing D,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Tim Spafford,Chief Systems Engineer,(703) 267-6742,tims@tridsys.com,"The Navy typically uses SLOC based methods to estimate software size. SLOC estimates vary with the language, design approach and the subjectivity of the Subject Matter Expert (SME). Inaccurate size estimates add risk to a program, leads to bad decisions and causes program cost overruns. An objective approach is needed to estimate software size that eliminates the variations and subjectivity to provide accurate cost estimates. The recent adoption of the Automated Function Point (AFP) Specification by the Object Management Group (OMG) allows for consistent and accurate automation of the calculation of function points. A tool that implements the standard will eliminate the training, subjectivity and effort involved with performing manual function point analysis. Trident proposes to develop a tool that calculates AFP based size estimates for the Navy""s legacy code to build up an historical database and then uses the database to develop accurate future AFP based size estimates at any various points in the acquisition life cycle."
Non-Destructive Inspection for Medium Caliber Gun Barrel Fatigue Crack,FA8501-14-P-0042,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,150000.00,"Prime Photonics, LC",1116 South Main Street,,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Poland,CEO,(540) 315-3649,steve.poland@primephotonics.com,David Gray,"Principal Scientist, Mtls and Devic",(540) 808-4281,david.gray@primephotonics.com,"ABSTRACT: Prime Photonics is developing an ultrasonically enhanced magnetic field detection system that will measure defects, voids and residual stresses in ferrous and non-ferrous materials. Successful development and deployment of this technology will enable on condition replacement of critical components, increasing safety and reducing cost. This product can also be part of an integrated logistics support plan. This will be developed with General Dynamics, the OEM to insure all the relevant requirements are met and executed in the development plan. BENEFIT: High resolution of surface and internal flaws: The Prime Photonics system will be capable of characterizing flaw sizes within 0.002""in both length and depth. State of the art arrayed eddy current systems are capable of detecting these resolutions, but only for surface flaws. Eliminates human error: Since the process is automated, scans are consistent from one run to another. Ultrasonic methods rely heavily on data interpretation, as do hand held eddy current probes. Deployable for In-Situ inspections: The arrayed magnetometer is very small, and does not require a sterile lab environment to operate in. Arrayed eddy current systems require they be set up in lab environments, as do ultrasonic, magnetic particle detection, and dye penetrant inspections. Reduced inspection time/Can be deployed on existing support equipment: The Prime Photonics system can be packaged to operate on existing laser bore mapping support equipment."
Bio-Inspired Semiconductor Technology,W15QKN-14-C-0057,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2014,2,621982.00,"EWA Government Systems, Inc.",13873 Park Center Road,Suite 500,Herndon,VA,20171-3251,No,No,No,Jamey Rexrode,Director of Contracts,(703) 904-5066,jrexrode@ewa.com,Tom Bonazza,Program Manager,(304) 367-0770,tbonazza@ewa.com,"The U.S. military is dependent on electronics for situational awareness. Power consumption of electronics must be minimal for practical deployment. Much of the incoming video, acoustic, and sensory data is insignificant and does not need to be analyzed by computationally intensive algorithms operating on conventional processors. This project aims to develop an ultra-low-power parallel processor capable of processing video, acoustic, and sensory data and identifying when features of interest are present. The bio-inspired neuromorphic processor will serve as a decision processor to control the operational state of a multicore processor that is only powered on when interesting data are present. In Phase I, the architecture of the neuromorphic processor was defined, and the hardware and software tasks were partitioned. System design analysis and circuit simulation environments were put in place, and the nonvolatile memristors for use in the neuromorphic processor were characterized. Phase II will involve evaluation and specification of design elements and parameters, development of a prototype hardware system to demonstrate proof of concept, specification of a processor chip implementation, and development of software for programming of memristors, as well as ongoing improvements to memristor technology."
Generalized Query Planner for Distribute Fusion,N00014-14-P-1094,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79967.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Rich Kadel,PI,(540) 951-5900,rkadel@harmonia.com,"Our military""s ability to dominate the battlespace depends on the ability to first""see""the battlespacethat is, for our military commanders to have awareness of the environment, entities, activities, and intent of both our adversaries and ourselves. The things we don""t control must be observed, interpreted, and analyzed to understand a situation and predict potential outcomes.""Observations""come from the sensors our expeditionary, afloat, and air forces bring with them into contested areas; as well as from cooperating services and agencies with remote sensors, data centers, and analytical capabilities. In contested areas, the sensor capabilities will likely overwhelm our ability to centralize information. We must move analytics closer to the sensors, while still providing the commander a fused view of the battlespace. We propose a new Fusion Framework that leverages Harmonia""s technology for distributing MapReduce jobs across geographically distributed clusters, and our partner CUBRC""s extensive applied research in fusion to create the Generalized Query Planner for Distributed Fusion (GQPDF). The GQPDF query planner will use both shared and machine-learned knowledge of data localization to route analytical processes (e.g., MapReduce) to the best combination of tactical or enterprise fusion-data nodes, as one-time queries, or standing subscriptions for continuous awareness."
Living Plan,FA8750-14-C-0168,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149970.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,PI,(540) 951-5901,mabrams@harmonia.com,"ABSTRACT: We propose to design OPTIMUS, Optimized Planning Through Iterative Mission Updates and Synthesis, a Command and Control system to provide the capability of continuous Operation Plan (OPLAN) update for use by the Joint Task Force Air Component Commander and in an Air Operations Center (AOC) at the battle planning and management level to keep the Air Battle Plan living and linked to objectives/effects/commander""s intent of the Joint Operations Plan (OPLAN) environment. We enable transformation from the 24 hour Air Tasking Orders (ATO) planning cycle to use constantly updating plans that provide the ability dynamically to reallocate and retask assets across federated war-fighting domains (horizontal and vertical). When required assets are not available or lack readiness, our system will examine realloation of assets while presenting the ripple effect on other mission threads. Our system will alert planners to changes in conditions via complex event processing on authoritative data sources that warrant replanning, and automatically come up with suggested Courses of Action (COAs) to help save human decision-making time. OPTIMUS is based on substantial work done for the U.S. Navy, an Automated Battle Management Aid (ABMA). BENEFIT: OPTIMUS will demonstrate successful application of automated battle management planning aids from the Navy involving dynamically recommending COAs, execution of plan branches, and assignments of resources to the Air Force Joint Air Tasking Cycle. The work will also facilitate adaptation of plans within the current 24 hour cyclical planning resulting in ATOs. Plus OPTIMUS will portray ripple effects of making dynamic decisions (e.g., what other missions are affected by a reassignment of resources to new tasking)."
Information Technology Analytical Maintenance and MOnitoring (IT-AMMO),N00024-14-P-4518,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79977.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Rich Kadel,PI,(619) 940-7424,rkadel@harmonia.com,"Harmonia is proposing to develop the Information Technology Analytical Maintenance and MOnitoring (IT-AMMO) system, a software application for Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) and Distance Support (DS) for IT systems aboard LCS ships. IT-AMMO will help the LCS Program monitor health and status information, identify problems more accurately, perform remote analysis of system trends to predict failures, and enable remote monitoring and maintenance of LCS systems by ashore subject matter experts, to reduce the impact on the ship""s crew with IT management and maintenance concerns. IT-AMMO will adapt to LCS on-board IT systems through a generalized interface to make it easier to support current variations of LCS interfaces and future enhancements. IT-AMMO will provide status dashboards, a rule engine, alerts, and analytic visualizations and tools to drill down to the pertinent data for decision-making. IT-AMMO will also address network resiliency and security concerns to permit remote maintenance of onboard systems. IT-AMMO""s generalized framework for data acquisition, predictive analytics, and distance support will provide the fundamental building blocks to enhance the LCS mission, and be adaptable to other maintenance domains within the LCS program, other applications in Navy IT and maintenance, DoD, Federal, and commercial adaptations."
Operational Console Modernization Tool,N00024-14-P-4566,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2014,1,79976.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,PI,(540) 951-5901,mabrams@harmonia.com,"From Harmonia""s long experience on human factors, console design, and usability engineering we learned that we could bring about better HSI design if we could utilize a validated model and associated computer-based tool. Our proposed tool, ImpactModeler, fuses the many factors and data sources going into console design, to score usability. Furthermore our model and tool will predict the impact of design changes. We propose development of a model that has a good balance of analytical and predictive powers. The model would be based upon multiple inputs across as many aspects of the system as possible to be both comprehensive and tolerant of missing inputs. The output of the model is scoring of individual aspects of usability plus an aggregate score, along with a measure of the level of certainty for each score. ImpactModeler will apply to evaluation of actual physical consoles, or of virtual worlds representing a proposed console design supporting collaborative engineering and concept of operation exercises."
COAXIS - Course of Action Extra-Intelligence System,N00014-14-P-1225,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,79975.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,PI,(540) 951-5901,mabrams@harmonia.com,"COAXIS (Course of Action Extra-Intelligence System) recommends both information relevant to an operational order and a course of action (COA), where COA is defined as a decision of what action to take given a specific situation. COAXIS performs semantic analysis of natural language of an operational order to bridge the world of human-oriented natural language communication of orders to machine analysis and prediction of events on the battlefield to recommend COAs. We solve the problem in a top-down, which allows us to address the four challenge areas in the topic. We start with a reasoning engine to make COA recommendations using information about assets, environment (adversary, neutrals, METOC, network, spectrum,...), geography, time, and mission in terms of capability requirements, tasks, goals (measures of performance and effectiveness). To make recommendations, we then address what queries will route data from the right sources. That in turn raises the question of what data is needed, which we address by mapping orders and current context to formulating the queries. Finally the orders themselves come from natural language analysis of human created messages. Our solution builds on our existing work in fusion, layered data, and battle management aides."
Conformal Conductivity Probe,FA8650-14-M-5036,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2014,1,149987.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,Yakup Bayram,CEO,(703) 719-9666,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,Alex Ruege,Principal Engineer,(703) 719-9666,alex.ruege@paneratech.com,"ABSTRACT: PaneraTech is proposing a conformal conductivity probe that utilizes a very innovative resonant-based approach to accurately and quickly measure the conductivity of curved aircraft surfaces and gap fillers. The proposed sensor is designed to allow for a very fast non-destructive, in-situ evaluation of the electrical conductivity in the range from 0 to 10 ohms/square. Preliminary studies have already shown that the probe interacts strongly with the conductive surface in a very small sensing area and is also very sensitive to these conductivities. During Phase I, we will optimize the sensitivity and sensing area of our innovative non-contact resonant-based sensor, which will operate in the 8-18 GHz band. BENEFIT: The proposed conformal conductivity probe offers a number of significant benefits to U.S. Air Force by ensuring expected electrical conductivities of conductive surfaces and gap fillers are achieved on the platform. This tool will allow for a very fast, in-situ measurement leading to decreased downtime of the aircraft. Rapid and high resolution conductivity measurement results obtained by the probe will allow for fast and effective action to qualify or repair sealants, gap fillers and surfaces, which will lead to reduction of the platform""s unavailability and extension of its life span. Beyond military applications there are also other industries that employ continuous and curved conductive coatings that can be tested by utilizing this tool including automotive, marine, construction and manufacturing applications."
Multiferroic Small Antenna,FA9550-14-C-0065,DOD,DOD,STTR,2014,1,149736.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,Yakup Bayram,CEO&CTO,(703) 719-9666,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,Yakup Bayram,CEO&CTO,(703) 719-9666,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,"ABSTRACT: PaneraTech, in partnership with UCLA, is proposing to develop an extremely small UHF antenna based on Multiferroics. The Multiferroic (MF) concept allows for a sub-wavelength ($100M CRAD investment to demonstrate full system performance by the end of Phase-II."
Arete Active Downrange Crosswind Sensor for Small Arms Fire Control,W15QKN-13-C-0025,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99955.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Douglas DeProspo,Vice President,(703) 413-0290,contracts@arete.com,Robert DiMarco,Principal Scientist,(703) 413-0290,bdimarco@arete.com,"Arete Associates proposes to develop a stand-alone active crosswind sensor operating at the eye safe wavelength of 1.5 microns. The sensor is based on a novel design using a single beam, and a single-channel under-resolved receiver. The error on the crosswind measurement will be less than 1.5 m/s for winds from 0 to 20 m/s, up to a range of 1.5 km. The sensor system will meet the objective SWaP requirements listed in the solicitation, which will make it suitable for day/night one-man operation."
Three Dimensional Ship Modeling for Submarine Combat Systems,N00024-13-P-4551,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79969.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Campion,Vice President,(818) 885-2200,contracts2@arete.com,Nicholas Flacco,Corporate Senior Scientis,(818) 885-2265,nflacco@arete.com,"The Arete team proposes development of SCULPT, an ISIS application for rapidly creating 3D models from 2D images of passing ships. The acronym is derived from the algorithm fundamentals; that is, Ship Model Creation from Unregistered Imagery, Library Source-Data, and Periscope Targeting. SCULPT will build a 3D ship model with sufficient precision for future ATR comparison by adding a small number of target images collected onboard to a reference library of openly-available silhouettes and dimensional information."
Subsurface Expendable Profiler,N00024-13-P-4554,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79966.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Douglas DeProspo,Vice President,(703) 413-0290,ddeprospo@arete.com,Guy Farruggia,Senior Manager,(703) 413-0290,gfarruggia@arete.com,"Arete and its subcontractor, Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, will design the Subsurface Expendable Profiler. The Profiler merges Arete's Sensor technology and Ultra's acoustic communication technology to achieve untethered real-time data collection of conductivity, temperature, and depth. This device will be deployed identically to the historical probes using the submarine signal ejector. Once ejected and clear of the submarine, the device separates into two sections, one containing the CTD Sensor Module and another containing the Acoustic Communication Module. The CTD Sensor Module collects depth related temperature and conductivity data on its ascent and descent. This data is delivered via one wire tether to the Acoustic Communication Module, which in turn wirelessly sends the data back to the submarine in real-time. Upon completion of the measurement cycle the device scuttles. Direct depth knowledge allows versatility in the device to not rely on ascension to the water surface which supports under ice measurements."
Innovative Algorithms for the Categorization of Mine-Like Objects Using Standard Sonar Return Data.,N00024-13-P-4585,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79965.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Kane,EVP,(520) 770-6099,contracts2@arete.com,Jason Seely,Senior Scientist,(303) 651-6756,jseely@arete.com,"Mine countermeasures will be a critical mission of the Littoral Combat Ship. This capability will be fulfilled by existing and future advanced SONAR systems to detect surface and volume mines. The performance of these systems is degraded by the large numbers of false alarms due to surface, volume, and sea bottom clutter, which increase operator workload and reduce effective search rate. Arete Associates proposes to develop an integrated false alarm mitigation strategy to improve the detection performance of existing military and COTS SONAR systems. Our approach builds upon over 30 years exploiting powerful data analytic tools and techniques for detection of weak targets in highly cluttered environments. Arete's in-house automated tools will be used to identify optimally discriminating spatial and spectral feature sets and feature-based classifiers to improve the performance of individual sensors. Additionally, Arete-developed weak-target tracking techniques will be used to combine temporal data from multiple scans, or multiple sensors, to improve weak target detection and eliminate short-lived false alarms. The optimal combination of spatial, spectral and temporal information will provide a powerful and robust object classification algorithm that will probability of detection and reduce false alarms in SONAR MCM applications."
Airborne Contact Cueing for Panoramic Imagers,N00024-13-P-4030,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79998.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,David Campion,Vice President,(818) 885-2200,contracts2@arete.com,Kris Barkume,Staff Scientist,(818) 885-2200,kbarkume@arete.com,"Arete will build an algorithm capable of real-time performance on panoramic video that rapidly detects low visibility aircraft with minimal false alarms. The team will make use of the on-hand periscope video and APB-13 algorithms to create panoramic inputs to our robust, likelihood-based Bayesian Field Detector (BFD) algorithm. For the Phase I effort, we will integrate and advance the BFD algorithm to detect aircraft and provide cueing information to the operator including an aircraft state vector and detection statistics. Within the scope of this overall solution, Phase I activities will focus on assessing algorithm performance and feasibility of a real time implementation. The Arete team is uniquely qualified to offer the requested capability. Its advanced position is a result of extensive experience in periscope image processing, 360-degree periscope mosaic-imaging, coherent stacking for low SNR detection, precise false alarm mitigation, and efficient highly-parallel algorithm development. The team also benefits from having over 20 hours of real periscope videoincluding airborne contacts in visible and infrared bandson hand for algorithm development and testing."
Solid-State Fundamental Mode Green Laser for Ocean Mine Detection,N00014-13-P-1173,DOD,NAVY,STTR,2013,1,79993.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Kane,EVP,(520) 770-6099,contracts2@arete.com,Paul Lundquist,Senior Scientist,(520) 571-8660,plundquist@arete.com,"Arete proposes the development of Q-switched semiconductor lasers that can be scaled to produce high output peak powers within the blue/green wavelength band. The proposed system will utilize nanostructure quantum wavefunction engineering for gain material designs having extended excited state lifetimes and suppressed non-radiative processes to enable energy storage for high-peak-power optical pulses. Short excited-state lifetimes have previously been a fundamental limitation on semiconductor lasers. This limitation had been circumvented through the use of the Diode Pumped Solid-State (DPSS) laser architectures where diode efficiency and rare-earth crystal upper-state-lifetimes are used together to obtain high-peak-power pulses in Q-switched cavities. By engineering nanopartical heterojunctions to lengthen radiative lifetimes and suppress non-radiative processes, energy storage capability can be increased in semiconductor materials, enabling high peak powers without the use of DPSS architectures. Initial efforts will provide theoretical guidance for material fabrication based on material and laser system analysis."
Coherent Imaging Laser Source,FA8650-13-M-1690,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149911.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Kane,Executive Vice-President,(520) 770-6099,contracts2@arete.com,Micah Boyd,Senior Scientist,(303) 651-6756,mboyd@arete.com,"ABSTRACT: Arete proposes a seeded Er:YAG MOPA system with narrow linewidth at 1617 nm and energy scalability surpassing program requirements. A novel seed system provides instantaneous multiple octave wavelength difference spanning for phase resolution control while eliminating strict tuning requirements. Commercially available spectrum stabilized diode lasers provide<100 kHz linewidth for injection locking a Pound-Drever-Hall servo controlled laser cavity. A 1532 nm fiber coupled pump powers the EO Q-switched ring cavity laser providing excellent beam quality and efficient thermal management. A solid state amplifier delivers pulse energies in the 10 mJ range. Identical, synchronized laser transmitters provide dual-color pulse doublets for coherent imaging of long range targets with arbitrary temporal pulse spacing. Scaling to multi-color imaging is straightforward and linear in cost and complexity. This Phase I effort is a high confidence, hardware-based demonstration of system performance with commercially available components. Arete""s approach provides a low SWaP, field worthy alternative to other architectures. BENEFIT: The concepts and hardware developed in this program have a wide range of relatively near-term military (tactical, theater and strategic) and other (surveillance/homeland security) applications. Tactical and surveillance adaptations would be the largest potential near-term markets. Our approach could be readily and cost effectively adapted to fielding of compact eyesafe laser radars and serve as high-accuracy optical trackers and target identifiers. Our approach can be used to generate high resolution 3-dimensional images of targets or fields at long stand-off distances."
COBRA Automatic Obstacle Detection (AOD),N00024-13-C-4544,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,1199172.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dave Kane,EVP,(520) 770-6099,contracts2@arete.com,Jed Withers,Manager,(850) 729-2130,jwithers@arete.com,"The Arete Associates (Arete) proposed effort develops and implements a Automatic Obstacle Detection (AOD) capability for the existing Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Block I System. To provide an AOD capability for the COBRA Block I system, Arete will develop, design, implement and integrate an obstacle detection algorithm on the COBRA Post Mission Analysis (PMA) Station. The COBRA Block I system collects and analyzes Multispectral Imagery (MSI) data in the Surf Zone (SZ), Beach Zone (BZ) and Beach Exit Zone (BEZ) to detect minefields, fortifications, and obstacles on a custom Post Mission Analysis (PMA) station after the COBRA Airborne Payload Subystem (CAPS) imaging sensor has landed. Currently, Obstacle Detection is a manual, operator-in-the-loop, image review procedure performed on the PMA Station Subsystem. The lack of a COBRA AOD capability requires operators to manually open and review every multispectral image to perform visual obstacle detection. This amount of operator review to perform Obstacle Detection significantly extends the operational timelines associated with a COBRA mission. The proposed COBRA AOD capability will eliminate the manual operator-in-the-loop detection and subsequently provide for greater than 50% reduction to the current overall COBRA PMA timeline."
An Advanced Algorithm for Radar Derived Bathymetry,WC-133R-13-CN-0084,DOC,NOAA,SBIR,2013,1,94569.91,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,,,,,Steven P. Anderson,Principal Scientist,(703) 413-0290,spanderson@arete.com,"NOAA can reduce costs and improve efficiency by remotely monitoring harbors, navigation channels, and coastlines for bathymetric changes. This will aid NOAA in its mission to maintain waterways and assure maritime safety. This remote sensing can be accomplished by implementing a new radar derived bathymetry capability.
Areté Associates proposes to demonstrate an advanced algorithm to derive bathymetry from times-series wave imagery obtained from shore based navigation radars. NOAA will benefit directly from our experience developing and transitioning other remote bathymetry solutions. Our proposed approach includes the following benefits:
•A low risk approach that exploits linear wave dispersion and Fourier analysis
•High spatial resolution and accuracy retrievals using new variational assimilation approach.
•Algorithm demonstrations and validation using radar data from an operationally relevant site.
•A flexible and adaptive solution that can be used the NOAA’s existing radar systems.
The success of Phase I will lead to prototyping and demonstrating a real-time, shore based radar bathymetry capability. These are the first steps toward reaching NOAA long term goal of an operational remote bathymetric measurement system suitable for both land and ship based radar systems."
Towards Integration of Data for unBiased Intelligence and Trust (TID-BIT II),FA8750-13-C-0140,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,500000.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Thomas J. McKenna,Chief Financial Officer,(781) 496-2443,mckenna@aptima.com,Georgiy Levchuk,Simulation&Optimization,(781) 496-2467,georgiy@aptima.com,"To expedite the intelligence collection process, analysts reuse previously collected data. Incorporating human-generated intelligence within the high-level fusion process enables the integration of hard and soft information to associate disparate pieces of information for improved situational awareness. To manage the uncertainty in soft information, we developed a process for characterizing the sources of error and bias specific to human-generated intelligence and assessing the quality of this data when used for high-level fusion and situation assessment. Relating information extracted from text to intelligence requirements and pattern matching on situational graphs enables the principled reuse of information for alternative purposes."
Active Sensor Technologies for Interceptor Seekers,FA8651-13-C-0012,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2013,2,745867.00,Arete Associates,1550 Crystal Drive,Suite 703,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Luana Minor,Sr. Contracts Administrat,(818) 885-2200,contracts2@arete.com,James Murray,Arete Fellow,(303) 651-6756,jmurray@arete.com,"ABSTRACT: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have been the most dynamic growth sector of the aerospace industry this decade and it is projected to double over the next decade. The most significant catalyst has been the enormous growth of interest in UAVs by the US military, tied to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the general trend towards information warfare and net-centric systems. UAVs are a key element in the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portion of this revolution, and they are expanding into other missions as well with the advent of hunter-killer UAVs, like the Predator and Reaper, which are equipped with the latest targeting and laser guided missiles. Efforts to reduce the cost, operational footprint and platform vulnerability have led to the development and successful deployment of thousands of small UAV. There is a growing need to add targeting capabilities (acquisition and designation) to small UAS by integrating small laser designator systems into the payload. Advances in miniature laser technology will aid in improving the performance of legacy hunter-killer platforms, and will help enable targeting capabilities of small UAV. Scalable, ultra-low SWaP laser architectures that lead to increased operating ranges and endurance from small platforms are highly desired. Laser configurations must be inherently thermally and mechanically stable over extreme temperatures, shock, vibration, and must be capable of operating in high radiation environments. Arete Associates proposes to mature a disruptive new ultra-compact and efficient laser technology called AIRTRAC that promises to meet these stringent requirements. The AIRTRAC configuration combined with Arete's""coffin""athermal gain module dramatically reduce size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements on severely constrained platforms. AIRTRAC's self-aligning, dimensionally stable cavity configuration is extremely robust over harsh environmental conditions. In this Phase-II SBIR Arete will build two technology demonstrator versions of the AIRTRAC: One for the high-altitude hunter-killer platforms (Predator, Reaper,) and another for the small marker UAS platforms (Puma AE, TigerShark, Cutlass). These tech demonstrator units will be tested and qualified over the environment to achieve an exit maturity of TRL-5. BENEFIT: A host of other military and civilian applications benefit from the development of compact and rugged high power, brightness and efficiency solid-state lasers sources. Complimentary military applications include long-range air- and space-borne lidar and ladar systems, which are hosted on platforms with limited payload and power capacities. The development of a new ultra-compact AIRTRAC laser configuration will provide>50 mJ of high beam quality output in a package that requiring less than 6 cu-in in volume and<0.5 lbs, which is well below the current state-of-the-art in compact laser designators. Moreover, the integration of Arete's athermal gain module eliminates diode temperature control requirement, increasing the laser efficiency by a factor-of-two. AIRTRAC promises to meet future demand for an ultra low SWAP laser designator for ground based warfighters and small UAVs. The design is particularly novel because it enables full compliance with NATO PRF/PIM codes and pulsewidths in this very compact package. AIRTRAC is a scalable architecture that can be applied to other more traditional laser designator markets where higher energies are required. A host of civilian applications benefit from the development of an ultra-compact, light-weight and efficient solid-state laser source including law enforcement, homeland security, surveillance, and search and rescue."
Domain-Specific Modeling Environment for Autonomous System Demonstration and Experimentation,HDTRA1-13-P-0015,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149700.00,"TORC Robotics, LLC","2200 Kraft Dr, Ste 2050",,Blacksburg,VA,24060-,No,No,No,Garnett Linkous,Contracts Officer,(540) 443-6687,linkous@torcrobotics.com,David C. Conner,Senior Research Scientist,(540) 443-6679,conner@torcrobotics.com,"The TORC team, which includes Dr. Jonathan Sprinkle of the University of Arizona (UA), will develop enabling software and modeling methods for the Autonomous System Demonstration and Experimentation Workbench. The workbench will assist test engineers, systems engineers and analysts in designing and equipping autonomous unmanned vehicles for a variety of operations. The proposed work is based on over a decade of expertise in domain-specific modeling, autonomous vehicles, and software synthesis for large, complex systems. The team will design the workbench to serve both data input users - those who need to test and validate unmanned systems while extracting relevant information for the database - and data consumption users - those who need to use the workbench to perform systems engineering, missions CONOPS scenarios and other analytical tasks necessary to employ a highly complex unmanned, autonomous system."
Ocean Sensor Interface Simulation for Integration Testing,N00024-13-P-4559,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79991.00,"ASSETT, Incorporated",11220 ASSETT Loop,Suite 101,Manassas,VA,20109-3999,No,No,No,Evan Kohn,President,(703) 365-7859,evan.kohn@assett.net,Robert McCaig,"Sr. VP, Chief Technology",(703) 365-8940,bob.mccaig@assett.net,"ASSETT, Inc. proposes to develop an acoustic modeling and simulation system that will enable thorough and comprehensive testing of Navy sonar systems prior to their integration with fielded acoustic sensors and arrays. Traditionally, the complexities of accurately simulating the detail characteristics and nuances of acoustic sensors and the ocean environment have precluded providing detail stimulation for testing new sonar systems. The objective of this project is to introduce a capability that enables thorough sonar system testing prior to integration with the acoustic array. The ASSETT approach leverages existing simulation and acoustic data management system to produce a low risk system design approach. The system will produce high fidelity, realistic time series data simulating the performance of specific acoustic array types with the ability to mimic the effects of a wide range of anomalous array performance. This time series data can in turn be used to stimulate the sonar processing system in the development environment allowing the evaluation of how the system responds to both nominal array performance as well as anomalous behavior. In addition, the system will have the capability to receive information the acoustic arrays and perform testing and performance analysis of the array performance."
Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) Software Reliability Enhancement - Combat Systems of the Future (CSoF) RIF896ASSETTALT1,N00024-13-C-4090,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,973153.00,"ASSETT, Incorporated",11220 ASSETT Loop,Suite 101,Manassas,VA,20109-3999,No,No,No,George Dasher,President,(703) 881-3559,george.dasher@assett.net,Dan Plunkett,Executive Software Archit,(703) 365-7863,dan.plunkett@assett.net,"ASSETT's Phase II base effort under SBIR N05-149 provides three key products which result from the documented methodology and processes established during Phase I: (1) Requirements associated with the Combat System of the Future (CSoF) developed from our robust methodology and captured in an Initial Capabilities Document (ICD) and Cognitive Specification, (2) CSoF architectural prototype and associated demonstration, and (3) an AI feasibility study update. Our proven methodology integrates cognitive engineering, systems engineering, and mission driven operations as inputs to the process for providing revolutionary approaches and in parallel, reducing manning in the submarine command center during all operations including battle stations. In addition it provides a streamlined approach for managing automation and adding the functionality required as the Submarine takes on a broader mission set and improves its connectivity to Force-Net. Our approach is being implemented in concert with each Phase I award winner for this topic and will be performed within a collaboration formalized and titled MARS. We will reshape how problems are viewed and how solutions are presented. Our collaboration will complete with a joint demonstration completed by the integration of each company's efforts."
High Spectrum Efficiency Technologies,W31P4Q-13-C-0140,DOD,DARPA,SBIR,2013,1,98666.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Joseph Schwarzwalder,Senior Scientist,(571) 308-1427,joe.schwarzwalder@azuresummit.com,"Azure Summit Technology and Shared Spectrum Corporation propose to improve the spectrum efficiency of ad-hoc networks while at the same time maintaining a high level of anti-jam robustness. Our approach is focused around four main strategies; time and frequency assignment and separation, simultaneous transmit/receive, non-greedy beam steering and neighbor nulling, and integrated dynamic spectral access and media access control (DSA/MAC) considering time, frequency and space. These strategies are driven by the observation that the limiting RF feature of dense ad-hoc networks, short of red force jamming, is the increase in background noise generated by the sum transmissions of all radios in the network."
Low SWaP Wideband Digital Receiver/Exciter (DREX) for Multifunction AESA,N68335-13-C-0270,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79892.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,"Next Generation airborne Navy Radar and Communication Systems will continue to rely on and evolve Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) systems to have more digitized channels for the flexibility of advanced digital beamforming (DBF), Space-Time Adaptive Processing (STAP), and agile wideband waveforms including Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) techniques. These evolutionary requirements all lead to the need for more Digital Receiver/Exciter (DREX) modules, but proliferating them on most platforms has historically not been possible due to the Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) and Cost (SWaP-C) profile of existing solutions. Azure Summit is pleased to offer this proposal to NAVAIR in which we leverage our existing efforts for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), NAVAIR, and Azure IR & D in DREX technology. Azure has a miniature wideband DREX module running in the lab today. Azure will leverage these technologies to develop 1 GHz wideband DREX concepts for NAVAIR in the 2-18 GHz band that support next generation AESA with full flexibility for improved radar modes, communications, SIGINT, EW, and other shared aperture concepts, and with low SWaP-C to enable doing this cost-effectively at the system level."
The RUBIK Algorithm for Characterizing Sparse Interleaved Emitter Pulse Trains,N00024-13-P-4022,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79879.00,"Azure Summit Technology, Inc.","13135 Lee Jackson Highway, Suite 330",,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Scott Bierly,President&CTO,(571) 308-1401,scott.bierly@azuresummit.com,Mark Sullivan,Chief Scientist,(571) 308-1402,mark.sullivan@azuresummit.com,"SEWIP Block 2 will utilize a fast-scanning ES receiver to rapidly acquire pulse data in the wideband threat spectrum. Depending on the scanning parameters, large gaps in pulse trains may confuse current deinterleaver technology, and ultimately confuse Emitter ID, which is already a challenge given densities of hundreds of emitters and therefore thousands of pulses to be associated into individual pulse trains. Azure offers a two-pronged approach to solving this problem: Leverage Azure""s Novel Emitter Parametrics NAVSEA SBIR; and, Azure""s proposed new RUBIK algorithm, which combines the functions of Deinterleaver and Emitter ID into a single processing block. In Phase I, Azure will utilize actual radar data collected in our lab, and also work with the Navy to obtain simulated data which is representative of the problem in the context of SEWIP Block 2."
Intelligent Automated Insect Collection System (IFICS),W81XWH-13-C-0086,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149979.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,William T. Gressick,Senior Research Engineer,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"Flying insect vectors and the diseases they transmit continue to be a significant source of concern for United States service members deployed in field operations. In an effort to reduce contact between the vectors and humans, military entomologists are often required to perform surveillance to assess the prevalence of disease vectors and to evaluate the effectiveness of control measures. Surveillance relies heavily on the use of trapping devices such as the CDC light trap, which has long been the standard device used by military entomologists. The standard CDC light trap, however, lacks many of the features required for reliable and accurate assessment of adult insect populations. As such, there is now an urgent need for improved and more broadly effective surveillance. To meet these needs, Barron Associates and its subcontractor Virginia Tech propose the development of the Intelligent Flying Insect Collection System (IFICS), which combines proven insect attraction methods with innovative sensing and signal processing technology to create a broadly-effective, low-cost and energy-efficient solution for flying insect surveillance. Features attractive to a wide variety of insects are included, making the IFICS an ideal solution for the Army's needs and positioning it as a widely-applicable solution for commercial and research markets."
Affordable Multi-Physics Local Environment (AMPLE) Space Situational Awareness,FA9453-13-M-0086,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149980.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Richard J. Adams,Senior Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"ABSTRACT: Barron Associates Inc. proposes development of an Affordable Multi-Physics Local Environment (AMPLE) Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system. The solution integrates multiple sensor phenomenologies, unconventional data sources, cross-platform information sharing, and sensor fusion to realize a low size, weight, and power (SWAP) platform that provides operational SSA for high value assets (HVAs) in geostationary orbit (GEO). The AMPLE platform fuses diverse sources into high-quality threat detection and track information, providing the host HVA with actionable knowledge. A key innovation is the employment of advanced data fusion techniques to optimize a sensor architecture for co-orbital SSA. Recent analysis by Barron Associates indicates that a minimalistic on-board sensor suite that takes advantage of diverse phenomenologies may prove adequate when networked data from other SSA assets are integrated within a fusion system. Phase I will include specific recommendations for optical, RF, and effluent sensing hardware; and an employment architecture that leverages this sensor data fusion capability to realize an affordable system. BENEFIT: AMPLE technology transition follows a successful model employed by Barron Associates in past projects that has resulted both in fielding of derived products and technical consulting and R & D services contracts. These vehicles account for a significant portion of Barron Associates revenue, and have largely driven a healthy annual growth rate. The proposed effort will open up new opportunities for providing satellite manufacturers with enhanced spacecraft protection measures. With the recent urgency attached to the defensive counterspace mission, these opportunities should increase significantly in the coming years."
Game-based AutonoMy-Enabled Response (GAMER),FA9453-13-M-0060,DOD,USAF,STTR,2013,1,149940.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Richard J. Adams,Senior Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"ABSTRACT: Barron Associates Inc. proposes development of a Game-based AutonoMy-Enabled Response (GAMER) system for spacecraft protection. The effort extends leading-edge research in dynamic games to enable autonomous defensive response to space threats. GAMER introduces a hierarchical approach that enables multiple satellites to work together towards a common protection strategy in an evolving environment. Algorithms and models developed in this Phase I will be incorporated into a Service Oriented Architecture framework in which GAMER solutions are integrated with other AF-funded autonomy software. The approach will ensure the game-theoretic solutions are tested within a high-fidelity environment with well-vetted models and use cases; and permit side-by-side comparisons of these solutions with other decision-making tools (e.g. model-based reasoning and expert systems). BENEFIT: Barron Associates will pursue commercialization of the proposed technology through a two-pronged approach. First, through software sales and licensing, Barron Associates will aggressively commercialize autonomous software produced in the GAMER effort. This includes a turnkey application that, through the software""s flexible plugin-based architecture, enables users to extend an existing stable of scenarios and dynamic game solutions with custom use cases and autonomy components. Second, through consulting services and contract R & D, Barron Associates will work with prime integrators to incorporate GAMER solutions into future generations of air, space, and cyber systems."
Rugged Automated Training System,W911NF-13-C-0026,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,2,419388.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,William T. Gressick,Research Engineer,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"Barron Associates, Inc.~proposes to develop the Rugged Automated Training (RAT) system, a cost-effective, rugged, automated environment to train and deploy small animals to detect landmines and other compounds of interest, and to evaluate their performance. The RAT system will train animals to recognize odorants using standard Pavlovian conditioning procedures in specialized, automated operant chambers controlled by custom software. It is well-documented that animals experience an involuntary physiologic response when exposed to compounds that they have been trained to recognize, a phenomenon that will be exploited in the present effort to automate the training of animals to detect mines. A novel, wireless, non-invasive, body-worn sensor backpack will collect and relay data, in real time, from the animal to a PC that will employ specialized algorithms to automatically determine when the animal has discovered a substance that it has been trained to recognize. An acoustic local positioning system will be used to accurately and automatically determine the location of the animals and any detected mines within the search grid. The RAT system will also train the animals to respond to cue beacons that will guide their movements within the search field with minimal human interaction."
Fusion of Information for Response to Space Threats (FIRST),FA9453-13-C-0043,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749959.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Richard J. Adams,Senior Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"ABSTRACT: Barron Associates, Inc. proposes an aggressive Phase II effort to make on-board threat information fusion technology available for future DoD, National, and commercial space systems. Fusion of Information for Response to Space Threats (FIRST) encompasses three key technical components: (1) autonomous detection algorithms enabled by a unique sensor and on-board processing; (2) recursive Bayesian state estimation/prediction that integrates diverse information sources to monitor threat behavior; and (3) statistical decision support algorithms that employ predictive knowledge of threat state and state uncertainties to enable autonomous responses appropriate to risk severity and likelihood. The Phase II plan aggressively pursues advancement of this technology through development of autonomous sensor technology, flight code integration, simulations, and hardware demonstrations. BENEFIT: Operational implementation of this technology is anticipated as part of a spacecraft protection system on future military and civil platforms. The Phase II effort will place Barron Associates in a unique position to pursue our marketing strategy of partnering with major aerospace prime contractors for integration of specialized capabilities. Barron Associates will pursue commercialization of the proposed technology through a three-pronged approach. First, the effort will open consulting services and contract R & D opportunities for integrating on-board spacecraft protection technologies into future systems. Second, we will pursue commercialization of sensor fusion algorithms produced in this effort, leveraging the company""s past successes in licensing specialized analysis and design software. Finally, we will pursue direct opportunities to commercialize sensor electronics in spin-off ventures that exploit the intellectual property developed in the proposed program."
Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Increased Automation for RMMV Recovery Operations,N00024-13-P-4596,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79917.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Jason Burkholder,Principal Research Scient,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"Shipboard launch and recovery of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) is a challenging engineering problem requiring careful design and integration of hardware and software. The seaway-induced relative motion between the host vessel and ROV is often difficult to measure or model, which may render automatic control approaches ineffective and force reliance on manual operation by a very small number of highly trained operators. The success of a launch or recovery is thus highly dependent on the proficiency and alertness of the operator(s). Recovery of the RMMV from the LCS Independence variant is especially challenging and labor-intensive. The overall objective of the research is to provide increased recovery automation to enhance safety and repeatability while reducing operator workload. Barron Associates, Inc. and its research partners propose a tiered research and development program that assesses and quantifies the degree of recovery automation achievable with varying levels of cost. A simulation environment that includes vehicle, flow, and recovery system models will be developed. The team will follow a building-block approach that first maximizes the autonomy that is achievable within the basic confines of the existing infrastructure. Based on the simulation results, innovative modifications will be considered within given cost and technical risk guidelines."
Monitoring Metabolic Energy Expenditure Via the Prosthetics of Lower Extremity Amputees,W81XWH-12-C-0055,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,999906.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Eileen Krepkovich,Research Engineer,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"Limb loss affects approximately 1.9 million people in the United States. It is well established that lower-limb amputees show greater metabolic demands during gait and more limited mobility compared to non-disabled individuals. Currently, there is no lower-extremity prosthesis available that can monitor the metabolic costs of the amputee. The proposed solution, code-named TEQUILA (Total Energy expenditure QUantification In Lower limb Amputees), will provide an accurate, low-profile, and convenient metabolic energy expenditure (EE) and physical activity (PA) intensity level monitor that is compatible with both transtibial and transfemoral prostheses. The TEQUILA system will also provide real-time user feedback via a wireless handheld touchscreen device; analytic software will provide more extensive details regarding EE and PA intensity levels obtained via long-term monitoring. Such feedback will be helpful to the user, for example, to establish daily activity goals and progress towards meeting them during and following rehabilitation, as well as provide a means of metabolic and kinematic data sharing with healthcare personnel (e.g., for use in assessing both physical and mental health). Furthermore, unlike traditional activity monitors that must be separately donned, the TEQUILA system will always be with the amputee, collecting EE and PA intensity level data whenever the prosthesis is worn."
"Methodology and Tools for Certifying Autonomous, Cyber-Physical Systems-of-Systems",FA8650-13-M-2370,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2013,1,149937.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Michael DeVore,Senior Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"ABSTRACT: Barron Associates, together with subcontractor Rockwell Collins, propose to develop a new class of design and analysis tool that will significantly reduce the time and costs associated with V & V of complex cyber-physical systems-of-systems, and that will pave the way to certification of systems that were previously too complex to rigorously certify. The focus of this tool is on explicitly modeling and verifying the behavioral and interaction characteristics of all system components, and propagating them through successively higher levels of integration to uncover undesirable emergent behaviors that can appear anywhere within the larger system. The approach is based on an extension of the""design for verification""paradigm but applied in a multidisciplinary engineering setting, with detailed analyses of both the cyber and physical natures of the system. We will demonstrate the capabilities of this new tool on a realistic problem involving the design of autonomous multi-UAV systems within the context of a larger systems-of-systems application. The proposed team will take advantage of Barron Associates""expertise in SysML, multidisciplinary engineering analysis, uncertainty propagation, and design of multi-UAV control software. It will also leverage extensive experience at Rockwell Collins in the use of formal methods for large, complex industrial applications. BENEFIT: The proposed effort will open up new opportunities for providing enhanced, advanced verification tools for cyber-physical systems-of-systems. By partnering with Rockwell Collins, the result of this SBIR effort and follow-on developments should be a powerful analysis tool that combines Barron Associates""developed technologies with Rockwell Collins own suite of proven formal methods software tools. With recent wide interest in cyber-physical systems, potential commercial applications should increase significantly in the coming years in areas such as (1) future combat systems, (2) complex missions for unmanned air systems (e.g. AAR or terrain mapping), (3) NextGen air traffic management and autonomous operations, (4) internet networks, (5) power grids, (6) automotive and other complex machinery development, and (7) a number of industrial applications, such as autonomous manufacturing plants and automated warehousing management."
Tube Launched UAV with Glide to Hover Transition,W15QKN-13-C-0047,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2013,2,554462.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,General Manager,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,David A. Neal,Research Scientist,(434) 973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"The LOCUST40mm is a surveillance system that is fired from a standard M320 grenade launcher. It provides unique capabilities not offered by other 40mm-launched systems and fills an important capability gap currently faced by ground troops. In particular, the LOCUST40mm has significant greater range, endurance, and maneuvering flexibility than existing 40mm-launched camera systems. It is capable of gliding unpowered for over 1km from launch, at which point a contra-rotating motor/propeller system allows the vehicle to perform both a true hover with the vehicle oriented vertically, and forward flight with the vehicle oriented horizontally like a conventional airplane. Hovering facilitates maintaining a fixed sensor view of a stationary target and maneuvering in confined space such as inside building, while forward flight facilitates tracking of moving targets. Optical cameras will be the first sensors integrated with the system, but a modular payload bay will allow a wide variety of sensors to be used. The Phase II program will develop the complete guidance and control system for the LOCUST40mm vehicle, develop a 40mm round integrating the vehicle as its payload, and conduct extensive tests of both aerodynamic performance of the vehicle and launch survivability of the design."
VICTORY-Virtual Video Game Therapy for Substance Cessation and Recovery,1R43DA035013-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,200279.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,B. E. Parker,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nicotine addiction poses a serious public health problem in the United States. Cigarette smoking alone has been identified as the cause of numerous diseases, including cancers (e.g., lung, bladder, kidney, and oral cancers, among others), cardiovascular diseases (e.g., atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, among others), and respiratory diseases (e.g., pneumonia and COPD, among others). Secondhand smoke has been identified as a cause of disease and premature deathin adults and children, and the cost burden of smoking, including productivity losses, is estimated to be more than 193 billion annually. Public health awareness campaigns have led to widespread public knowledge regarding the dangers of smoking. Nevertheless, despite 70% of adult smokers indicating that they want to stop smoking, only approximately 6% of adult smokers successfully quit each year. There is a clear an immediate demand for innovation in the end of smoking cessation treatment. Recent researchhas shown that virtual (i.e., computer-rendered) smoking cues elicit the same types of smoking urges as real-world cues, and that cue/reaction therapy in a virtual reality environment has a significant positive effect on the reduction of nicotine dependence. In one study, patients wore head-mounted display hardware and were tasked with crushing virtual representations of cigarettes. Although the study showed a reduction in nicotine dependence, the system utilized in the research is impractical for commercial use. The head-mounted display hardware is prohibitively expensive (gt 1000) and the custom software had very few modern gaming elements. In addition, the virtual reality game used in this study ignored the motivational factors behind behavior modification, so it is not clear whether the system used in this study would have a long-term effect on smoking cessation rates. The proposed Phase I project will develop the VIdeo Game Therapy for Substance Cessation and Recovery (VICTORY) system, a video game therapy system intended to address substance abuse through cue/reaction therapy. The Phase I system will focus on the reduction of nicotine dependence in cigarette smokers. A virtual reality environment will be created using the inexpensive, wireless Kinect motion controller with the Microsoft Xbox360 gaming console, thereby lowering the cost barrier for treatment. Furthermore, the VICTORY system will specifically focus on the motivational factors behind behavior modification; specifically, fulfillment of the basic psychological needs of Competence, Autonomy, and Relatedness. The satisfaction of these needs is not only necessary for behavior modification for healthier living, but also a key factor in how video games continue to keep players motivated. Therefore,it is logical to design a video game therapy system around this proven model in order to effect self-motivated lifestyle changes in an individual, such as the decision to quit smoking. The proposed VICTORY system will use the proven models of self-determination theory and cue/reaction therapy to create a low-cost video game therapy approach for nicotine abuse treatment. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Despite widespread knowledge of the negative health effects of nicotine abuse,significant gaps still exist between those who wish to cease nicotine use and those who succeed in doing so. An innovative, low-cost option is needed to augment existing approaches towards treatment of nicotine addiction. The proposed research will createthe rest commercial, consumer-grade video game therapy system designed specifically to treat nicotine addiction."
Multi-modal Application for the Perception of Spaces (MAPS),1R43EY021978-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,212025.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Richard J. Adams,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Multi-modal Application for the Perception of Spaces (MAPS) is an Android tablet application and wearable USB peripheral that provides an on-the-go stereo-tactile, audio, and high-contrast visual map of interior spacesfor individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The tactile display peripheral, similar to ear buds (but worn on two fingers), plugs into the standard USB port on any modern Android tablet; providing independent cues for touch screen exploration. The mobile application accesses building maps via wireless Internet, rendering simultaneously through the USB peripheral and the tablet's built-in audio/visual displays. Problem to be addressed: Independent function in new or unfamiliar environments requires acquisition of survey knowledge. No practical solution currently exists for on-the-go access to interior space information. Existing touch screen-based accessible map displays rely on pre-printed raised line overlays, and no commercial system exists for access to building layouts. Long-Term Goal: Using their Android tablet (or iPad), customers will download the MAPS application from the online marketplace and purchase the stereo-tactile USB peripheral from a linked web site. The MAPS application will providelow-cost subscription access to an online database of Building Information Model (BIM) architectural data. Phase I Summary: Phase I focuses on demonstration of concept feasibility through a prototype MAPS system and a pilot study investigating the effectiveness of the multi-modal map display. Successful accomplishment of the program s specific aims will provide a solid base for Phase II commercial product development. Specific Aim 1: Demonstrate superiority of the stereo-tactile/audio MAPS display over audio-only map display in acquisition of survey knowledge of unfamiliar environments Specific Aim 2: Assess stakeholder usability and technology acceptance of a MAPS system The program brings together a team with world-class experience, research credentials, and domain knowledge to support successful development of the proposed technology including: the Barron Associates PI (two decades experience leading complex RandD projects, including haptic-assisted virtual reality training), Virginia Commonwealth University Haptics Laboratory (leading assistive technology/tactile display researchers), Designing Digitally Inc. (web-based/mobile software experts), and the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (rehabilitation services/training providers). Commercial Opportunity: In the exploding Android tablet/iPad market, release of a MAPS application will quickly expose a large percentage of the over 3 million Americans who are blind or visually impaired (and many more world-wide) to this exciting new technology. Other applications for the stereo-tactile USB peripheral (including street maps, education, and gaming) will rapidly evolve in the dynamic mobile app marketplace. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed Multi-modal Application for the Perception of Spaces (MAPS) system will promote functional independence in individuals who are blind or visually impaired by enabling non-visual/low-vision access to multi-modal survey information on interior spaces. MAPS, comprised of an Android tablet, application software, and a stereo-tactile USB peripheral, will enable users to acquire survey knowledge of an environment through high-fidelity tactile cues, audio sonification/text-to-speech, and, if appropriate, high contrast graphis. MAPS users will benefit fromthe rapidly expanding availability of industry-standard digital building information, facilitating independent navigation in a broad range of vocational and recreational settings (e.g. airports, office building, museums, metro stations, shopping malls)."
Smart Polymer Reagents for Sensitivity and Speed-enhanced Clinical Diagnostics,1R43NS080399-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,149900.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,Todd A. Summers,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Detection and Alerting System for Seizure Onset (DASSO) will be a comfortable, chest-worn device that will provide continuous, wireless seizure monitoring for individuals with epilepsy. Barron Associates, a leader in the development of wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) and patient activity monitoring devices, is partnering with the University of Virginia (UVA) to develop and test the DASSO system. Problem to be Solved Rapid detection of seizure onset is important forindividuals with epilepsy, as it allows a caregiver to provide protective and/or intervening care, as needed. Failure to intervene can result in injury during attack, mental impairment or death secondary to status epilepticus, or Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). The problem of detecting seizure onset is complicated by the fact that there is a wide range of seizure types that present with different signs and symptoms. In the realm of continuous seizure monitoring, there remains a significant capability gap between accurate, but cumbersome, electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring, and simple, but limited, wrist actigraphy. Phase I Summary The combination of continuous, remote heart rate (HR) and motion monitoring provides a unique capability to detect seizure onset and wirelessly alert a caregiver to provide appropriate seizure interventions. This e ort wil leverage Barron Associates' proven monitoring hardware; the primary technical challenge addressed in Phase I will be the development and testingof feature extraction and statistical change detection methodologies that exploit autonomic nervous system (ANS) activations preceding or concomitant with seizure events. Specific Aim 1 Demonstrate the feasibility of using measures of heart rate variability (HRV) to detect seizure onset for di erent seizure types. Criteria for acceptance: statistically significant seizure onset detection for non-convulsive seizures. Specific Aim 2 Demonstrate the feasibility of using HRV measures and accelerometry data jointly to detect seizures. Criteria for acceptance: improved detection specificity and detection latency for convulsive seizures versus wrist actigraphy alone. Commercial Opportunity DASSO will significantly improve the quality of life for individuals with epilepsy and their familis. Without such a monitoring device, the family and/or caregivers of individuals with epilepsy who are prone to frequent and prolonged seizures (e.g., status epilepticus) must regularly check on the patient. This is a source of stress that will be alleviated with the use of DASSO. While the low-pro le, unobtrusive device will provide greater freedom for epileptic patients and their caregivers, it could also be used for continuous physiologic monitoring for other medical conditions within this patient group, including sleep apnea and cardiac arrhythmias. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: DASSO will remotely and wirelessly monitor individuals with epilepsy for seizure onset via an ergonomic, chest- worn device,and alert the caregiver (via a wireless signal routed to a smartphone app) to expedite protective and/or intervening care. DASSO will be a low-cost alternative to comprehensive, but restrictive, EEG-based monitoring, while providing a broader detection capability than exists for equivalently-priced wrist-worn monitors. DASSO will significantly improve the quality of life for both individuals with epilepsy and their families by easing the stress associated with around-the-clock monitoring."
BENEFIT,2R44AG032160-02,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,991580.00,"BARRON ASSOCIATES, INC.",1410 SACHEM PL STE 202,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2496,No,No,No,Connie R. Hoover,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,B. E. Parker,,434-973-1215,barron@bainet.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this multi-phase SBIR research effort is to develop a handheld fall risk assessment instrument for use by health and elder care providers. Falls occur in up to 30% of those over the age of 65 and upto 40% for people over the age of 80. Falls place each individual at risk for dangerous closed head injury and long bone fractures. The mortality rate at one year following a hip fracture has been reported to be as high as 27%, with another 22% losing theability to ambulate. Fall-related injuries are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among elderly adults. Falls are estimated to incur costs of over 28 billion annually in the U.S. The proposed instrument will ensure that individuals at increased risk for falling are identified and provided with appropriate interventions to reduce fal occurrences. Avoidance of injurious falls will result in reduced pain and suffering and will lower the costs of patient care. Bayesian belief networks are the key technology that will enable faster and more accurate fall assessments; the Bayesian methodology allows the merging of disparate information into a unified and objective stochastic assessment of fall risk. The fall risk assessment tool will furnish a universalalgorithm for initializing, adapting, and optimizing fall isk assessments based on the patient risk factor data that are available in a given setting. The proposed approach leverages two important and extant assets: (1) an extensive literature on fall riskfactors and fall prevalence statistics; and (2) institution-specific patient fall risk factor nd fall outcomes data (these data can be used to train and adapt the new assessment tool, allowing accurate, clinically relevant estimates to be obtained for particular settings). These two data assets will be used effectively to close the loop between evidence and practice. The successful Phase I work demonstrated both the feasibility and the efficacy of the BENEFIT instrument. The BENEFIT instrument's accuracy surpassed that of current assessment tools by a wide margin. A retrospective analysis of a 900 patient sample in Phase I estimated that use of the proposed instrument would have realized a cost savings of nearly 2 million. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCEPUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed tool will provide superior identification of patients at risk for falling than presently-available screening instruments and will lead to changes in clinical practice that aect patient care through more accurate targeting of fall risk prevention interventions. The new tool will nd a ready market as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) began requiring (eective 2005) health care organizations seeking accreditation to routinely assessand periodically reassess each patient's risk for falling and to take action to reduce the risk of falling. Furthermore, recent changes to Medicare policy limit and, in some cases, prohibit reimbursement to institutions for the treatment of avoidable hospital-acquired conditions, including falls and fall-related trauma. These policy changes represent significant market pull and will stimulate and accelerate the adoption of the BENEFIT instrument."
Stall/Upset Training Enhancement Using StallBox,N68335-13-C-0334,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,751743.00,"Bihrle Applied Research, Inc.",81 Research Dr,,Hampton,VA,-,No,No,No,Jim Hill,Controller,(757) 766-2416,jhill@bihrle.com,Ryan Oltman,Senior Engineer,(757) 766-2416,roltman@bihrle.com,"Many existing flight simulators currently lack the aerodynamics modeling required to train pilots for stall/upset conditions. Further, the process of updating an existing simulator database can be difficult and costly due to simulation database rights licensing, complex simulation host architectures, and the need to re-validate updated models. The proposed effort will address this need and overcome these limitations through the introduction of an external hardware/software host called the StallBox. With this solution, the StallBox is integrated with the existing simulator, requiring only minor changes to the existing system software to enable the communication between the StallBox and the simulator host. With the StallBox, the host database remains untouched and the aerodynamic model elements needed to provide the enhanced stall/upset model capability are introduced into the existing simulation only when the simulated aircraft""s flight conditions demand it. In this manner, the existing simulation host architecture and proprietary database remain unmodified, and the validation of the existing configuration is not violated."
"Improved Detection, Localization, and Classification of Torpedoes",N00024-13-P-4009,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79966.00,CHAOTIC.COM,10305 YELLOW PINE DR,,VIENNA,VA,22182-1344,No,No,No,Ted Frison,President,(703) 759-5257,ted@chaotic.com,Rick Holland,Senior Fellow Scientist,(703) 276-4678,rick@chaotic.com,"By exploiting the high Doppler rate of torpedoes, low-latency, high-reliability, and high-mobility torpedo detection, classification and localization (DLC) can be accomplished with joint active-passive sonar signal processing using the hull array. Our system combines passive cues and a new active signal processing technology for deployed waveforms. The signal processing is carried out in real time within a common time-frequency representation for active-passive torpedo DLC but uses a novel technique, invented by chaotic.com, called Doppler-filtered pulse compression (DFPC). DFPC provides high probabilities of detection and correct classification while virtually eliminating confusable clutter. DFPC also provides the high Doppler and range resolution needed to spatially resolve salvos more efficiently than traditional high-resolution waveforms. To make reliable performance predictions for torpedo DLC, a method for extracting, validating, and generalizing highly realistic channel and target impulse response functions from legacy data is proposed."
AM-CW Integrated Path Differential Absorption Lidar,NNX13CL39P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124993.00,"COHERENT APPLICATIONS, INC.","20 Research Drive, Suite 500",,Hampton,VA,23666-1325,No,Yes,No,Diego Pierrottet,Business Official,7579275556,d.f.pierrottet@cailidar.com,Diego Pierrottet,Principal Investigator,7579275556,d.f.pierrottet@cailidar.com,"This proposal addresses NASA's science objectives with innovative lidar architecture for atmospheric CO2 measurements. Specifically, the proposed work can support and potentially enhance the Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) technologies. Using an active laser measurement technique, our system is designed to enhance the capabilities of CO2 remote sensing from high-latitude regions and nighttime observations with sensitivity in the lower atmosphere, and enable investigations of the climate-sensitive southern ocean and permafrost regions, provide insight into the diurnal cycle and plant respiration processes, and provide useful new constraints to global carbon cycle models."
Intelligence Driven Intelligence Collection,N00014-13-P-1066,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149976.00,"Commonwealth Computer Research, Inc.","1422 Sachem Pl., Unit #1",,Charlottesville,VA,22901-,No,No,No,James Conklin,Director of Operations,(434) 214-4415,conklin@ccri.com,Kevin Corby,Software Architect,(434) 299-0090,kevin@ccri.com,"As the number and type of sensors and associated platforms grows, the complexity of collection management skyrockets. Achieving the goal of developing more effective and efficient collection plans requires a more informed collection management information architecture. This architecture must not only optimize collection plans based on infor-mation requirements and priority, but it must leverage the data that already exist within the intelligence repositories. These data can be used in two ways. First, intelligence re-positories can be scanned to determine if information requirements can be satisfied using the data already collected instead of creating more collection requirements. Second, when collections are necessary, they can be done more effectively by leveraging the power of predictive analytics to anticipate where the targets will be. In this proposal, CCRi describes a three phase collection management architecture that will guide users to creating unambiguous, complete, and well structured collection re-quirements that are both machine interpretable as well as human readable. The system will seek opportunities to avoid collection using existing data, and then optimize collec-tions using state-of-the art optimization techniques in conjunction with predictive analytic outputs."
Data Storage and Transmission Strategies for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks,N66001-13-P-5105,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79910.00,Concentris Systems LLC,609 Cameron Street,,Alexandria,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Brennan,Vice President,(808) 341-4702,sbrennan@concentris-systems.com,Tareq Hoque,President,(808) 781-2000,thoque@concentris-systems.com,"The Department of Defense Joint Vision 2020 aims to create a force that is dominant across the full spectrum of military operations through information superiority. Achieving these objectives implies the ability to dynamically share and store data among potentially thousands of participants at the tactical edge, including users of Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Fit (HMS) radios. However, this potentially exposes these platforms to capture, compromise, and cryptanalytic attacks. Concentris Systems proposes to leverage recent advances in peer-to-peer storage to provide a distributed data storage service for mobile ad hoc networks in which confidential information stored on individual nodes is not vulnerable to concerted cryptanalysis. The proposed system provides a generalized approach to discovery, replication, reliability, and availability for data in the tactical ad hoc network, and offers a roadmap for data persistence when connected to back-end enterprise networks. The solution will provide interoperability with key standards required by the DoD Network-Centric Operations objectives to ultimately produce a cost-effective, dual-use, commercially-viable product. The design and implementation of such a framework would greatly accelerate the realization of the DoD""s Joint Vision 2020 objectives for highly mobile missions in non-traditional areas of operation."
Multi-Phenomenology Discrimination for Feature Aided Data Fusion,HQ0147-13-C-7316,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149998.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,David Fiske,"Director, Applied Mathematics",(703) 414-5036,david.fiske@dac.us,"We propose to apply a proprietary discrimination technique rooted in the manifold learning literature to discrimination of object type through radar and through electro-optical/infrared sensors, and to use the features computed by this technique to help correlate tracks between sensors. Our discrimination technique is data-type agnostic, meaning that we can apply the same basic algorithm in both phenomenologies, which, in turn, suggests that future work may allow us to more self-consistently perform cross-sensor data fusion. The proposal leverages prior investment by MDA in radar discrimination techniques and is endorsed by a major MDA prime contractor for sensor technologies, increasing its probability of successfully transitioning to the operation BMDS."
Automated PrOduct GEneration and Enrichment (APOGEE),N00014-13-M-0032,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Tim Hawes,Engineer,(703) 414-5032,timothy.hawes@dac.us,"Creating information products to answer""Tell Me About""questions requires the ability to identify key pieces of information relevant to a complex set of content requirements. Complicating matters, these key pieces of information are scattered across data stores and buried in huge volumes of data. This results in the current predicament analysts find themselves; information retrieval and management consumes huge amounts of time that could be better spent performing analysis. The persistent growth in data accumulation rates will only increase the amount of time spent on these tasks without a significant advance in automated solutions for information product generation. We propose a system called Automated PrOduct GEneration and Enrichment (APOGEE). APOGEE automates the creation of information products; learning the creation process by example. There are three stages to APGOEE""s workflow; first, using clustering and other machine learning techniques APOGEE learns the content models for a range of information products; next, using a search-and-align based methodology, APOGEE maps the content models to the semantic structure underlying unstructured text; finally, APOGEE uses the learned content model and semantic mapping to automatically generate new information products. All this can be done on the fly without requiring predefined information product templates or ontologies."
SEmantic Context Aware Network Tools (SECANT),W911NF-13-C-0035,DOD,ARMY,STTR,2013,1,100000.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Tim Hawes,Scientist,(703) 414-5032,timothy.hawes@dac.us,"Social network analysis has become one of the most powerful analytic tools in both private and government sectors and a key source of information on individuals and groups. Recently, social media arose as an important source for social network data in both sectors. Unfortunately, theoretically motivated approaches to social network analysis have not been able to keep pace with the new informational character of social media. Social media offers a previously unheard of volume and variety of data making possible richer analyses, but also introducing greater levels of complexity and noise. We propose a system called SEmantic Context Aware Network Tools (SECANT). SECANT is motivated by the observation that traditional research methodologies in the fields of structural network analysis, sociologically and psychologically theory and content mining each contain gaps the other fields can fill. The goal of SECANT is to enable hybrid methodologies from these fields that will produce analytic tools which yield more meaningful and relevant results. SECANT blends the scalability of traditional SNA with sociology""s awareness of social context, and content mining""s awareness of semantic context of its base fields to accomplish this goal."
Situational Awareness as a Man-Machine Map Reduce Job,N00014-13-P-1177,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,1,79999.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Jonathan Clausen,Senior Engineer,(703) 414-5020,jonathan.clausen@dac.us,"This effort is focused on the development of a system called Situational Awareness via Mixed-initiative Universal Recognition, Analysis, and Inference (SAMURAI). SAMURAI will provide a single cloud-enabled end-to-end workflow covering the full range of data analysis from data ingest to situational assessment and decision support. As part of this workflow SAMURAI will provide the ability for automated processing to provide rapid extraction of knowledge while allowing manual corrections and additions at multiple levels. These manual changes will then be utilized to improve the underlying statistical models utilized within the automated processes. The SAMURAI system will also provide a behavior/intent prediction capability that has been demonstrated to operate on millions of entities and billions of relationships. Moreover, the prediction algorithms will have the ability to be updated according to analyst feedback and use analyst-provided information not present in the raw data. The overall efficiency and accuracy of a large scale, mixed initiative analytical system will be heavily affected by when and how users provide feedback to the algorithms, the system incorporates this feedback, and users interact with each other. SAMURAI identifies when such interactions have the greatest benefit, and advises the user accordingly."
Author and Group Insight through Linguistic Expression (AGILE),N00014-13-C-0237,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,499995.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Jennifer Carlson,Senior Engineer,(703) 414-5010,jennifer.carlson@dac.us,"A document can express a wealth of information about its author, including potential groups they might sympathize with to the opinions or emotions they convey. This effort advances authorship analysis into deeper inference and understanding about who the author is. Demographic attributes such as gender are predicted, and the range of emotions expressed in their writing are automatically identified and incorporated into their profile. Our capabilities will detect vulnerabilities to the authorship analysis system, including attempts to deceive authorship identification. The AGILE system will produce a multi-faceted portrait of the individual. A visual analysis tool will display results and will integrate information about groups of similar authors. Our authorship analysis will be extended into multiple languages, beginning with Arabic. Despite being one of the world""s most widely spoken languages, sentiment and semantic analysis of Arabic text is a largely underexplored area of research. This software will evolve capabilities for inference on Arabic text. DAC""s authorship analysis efforts will lead to a full-scale portrait of an author, including multi-lingual text analysis and visual tools to help users quickly navigate through a versatile and complex analysis of the author""s identity."
Event Attribute Recognition and Labeling (EARL),FA8750-13-C-0065,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Timothy Hawes,Senior Engineer,(703) 414-5032,timothy.hawes@dac.us,"Today""s intelligence analysts are overwhelmed with textual data in the form of Human Intelligence and open source data from the web. The amount of texts that analysts have access to is far greater than one could ever read. This is a fundamental problem for analysts who have pressing strategic and tactical deadlines. Innovations in event extraction help resolve this problem by turning unstructured text in to structured data stores of events. However, with millions of events in a database, simple event extraction does not sufficiently contribute to analysts""Situational Awareness (SA). To truly increase SA, events must be searchable based on how, when, and if they occurred. This requires the ability to automatically recognize event attributes with very high accuracy. Under the Event Attribute Recognition and Labeling (EARL) effort numerous innovations towards high quality event attribute extraction are made. The EARL approach will use a multi-task classifier that simultaneously labels all attributes, with better accuracy than existing approaches. The EARL approach exploits deep linguistic features extracted from unstructured text. Finally, the EARL approach radically augments the data available, inexpensively and efficiently, by using crowdsourcing. The result is a capability that will far exceeded the current state-of-the-art in event attribute recognition."
AUDIO-based Cloud-enabled Language and Intelligence Processing (AUDIO-CLIP),N00014-13-P-1059,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149999.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Mark Frymire,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 414-5139,Mark.E.Frymire@dac.us,"Military operational tempo requires rapid development of highly accurate intelligence products from massive stores of data. Manual processing of data on this scale is infeasible. Automated processing systems have been developed to help analysts find the most relevant data to their current information requirements. This automated processing allows analysts to focus their efforts on performing higher level analysis. Unfortunately, most of these tools require the data to be in proper English. However, a significant percentage of the most fruitful data is in the native language of the areas of operation. Due to high error rates of automated transcription and translation tools, the majority of analytical tools are unable to produce meaningful results from this data. Therefore, DAC proposes to the AUDIO-based Cloud-enabled Language and Intelligence Processing (AUDIO-CLIP) system. The AUDIO-CLIP system will be focused on making all collected audio data available for real-time intelligence analysis and product generation. The algorithms within the system will focus on improving the automated generation of intelligence from foreign audio. AUDIO-CLIP will operate on foreign audio, transcriptions, and translations with the ultimate goal of improving the accuracy of the English transcripts for use by downstream analytical engines while also directly extracting intelligence at each step."
Discovering Valued Information in a Cloud Environment (DVICE),N00014-13-C-0276,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,340000.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1235 South Clark Street,Suite 400,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Dana Ho,Contracts Manager,(703) 414-5016,dana.ho@dac.us,Jonathan Day,Senior Engineer,(703) 414-5015,jonathan.day@dac.us,"comingIn combating terrorism, Warfighters must monitor at risk individuals and groups. The data sources needed to monitor such entities can consist of military sensors as well as open source literature. Key data types include unstructured text, audio, imagery, and biometric data. Currently, there does not exist a way to run specific searches in response to a tactical information need against large distributed data stores. DAC proposes a system called Discovering Valued Information in a Cloud Environment (DVICE). DVICE provides a framework to correlate, fuse, and exploit key observations which have been extracted from distributed data sources (text, imagery, and biometrics) in order to provide a consolidated and correlated knowledge product to the Warfighter. DVICE is based on the Hadoop cloud computing platform."
Interactive Generative Manifold Learning,N00014-13-M-0022,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79982.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191-,No,No,No,Paul Brewer,"VP, New Technology",(703) 725-3084,pbrewer@objectvideo.com,Ping Wang,Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9352,pwang@objectvideo.com,"Exploratory data analysis is the foremost step in selecting appropriate statistical learning algorithms specialized to a dataset. We have proposed a generative framework for visualizing high dimensional data as low-dimensional manifold embedded in a high dimensional space. The method allows user to conveniently explore the space using fewer dimensions while still capturing the principal modes of variations of the high dimensional data. Specifically, we employ Gaussian Process Latent Variable Model (GPLVM) and Spectral Latent Variable Model (SLVM) to learn low-dimensional representations of the data. Probabilistic mappings between the embeddings and the original space facilitate efficient interpolation in the latent space as well as fast visualization of the interpolated latent points in the original space. To allow the user to span the manifold in an intuitive manner, we develop supervised and semi-supervised tools to relate the latent space to the meaningful feature space. These enable computation of principle direction for each point in the latent space to allow the user to traverse in a meaningful way. Further, we have proposed a principled approach to extrapolate the latent space by predicting the manifold structure in regions lying outside the existing domain of the data."
Improved Real Time Geo-Registration Techniques For Airborne Imagery,FA8650-13-C-1617,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749989.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191-,No,No,No,Paul C. Brewer,Co-founder&VP New Techn,(703) 725-3084,pbrewer@objectvideo.com,Khurram Shafique,Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9300,kshafique@objectvideo.com,"ABSTRACT: This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop innovative simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)-based methods for accurate geo-registration of wide area motion imagery (WAMI). The proposed computational architecture and key technologies are capable of handling noisy sensor metadata, and scalable to process large-scale WAMI data in real-time using onboard, distributed processing units such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA). The key innovations in this effort are: i) development of distributed SLAM based geo-registration with centralized fusion to enable large-scale WAMI processing, ii) development of computationally efficient and FPGA-suitable feature matching approaches, iii) development of fast camera ray-to-3D terrain model intersection algorithm, and iv) development of a distributed computational framework to enable airborne processing in SWaP constrained environment. The Phase I effort demonstrated the proof of concept by developing core technologies that form the basis of the proposed algorithms. The Phase II effort will be focused towards advancement and integration of these enabling technologies and will include development of new algorithms to handle the issues identified during Phase I, transitioning of technology and prototyping, integration of technologies into an existing ISR system, detailed quantitative and qualitative evaluation at component and system levels, and demonstration of technologies in operationally representative scenarios. BENEFIT: Wide-area motion imagery has proven to be a critical asset for persistent surveillance and reconnaissance of large geospatial regions. However the utility and value of these assets to the analysts significantly depends on the quality of geo-registration. For example, the performance of common applications such as targeting, tracking of high valued targets, and activity analysis, all are a function of georegistration accuracy of the data. Hence the development of robust geo-registration technologies is critical for enabling truly automated real-time wide area surveillance and reconnaissance. The proposed technologies facilitate accurate geo-registration on large scale imagery in the presence of sensor noise and errors in geo-registered reference data while overcoming fundamental and operational challenges and enable many automated tools for the exploitation of WAMI data. These include: Tracking and handoff of high-value targets to and from WAMI data. Precision targeting. Mission Planning Automated Activity Analysis Real-time monitoring, and Forensic data analysis"
Development of an Onboard Video Processing Platform for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS),FA8650-13-M-1639,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149974.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191-,No,No,No,Paul C. Brewer,"VP, New Technology",(703) 725-3084,pbrewer@objectvideo.com,Donald G. Madden,Co-Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9300,dmadden@objectvideo.com,"ABSTRACT: Modern aerial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) benefits greatly from Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) equipped with Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) sensors. Given the increasing image capabilities and the small Size, Weight and Power (SWAP) budget of the typical SUAS, there is a growing need for a video exploitation system which can handle large volumes of imagery in a low SWAP hardware package. ObjectVideo (OV) proposes to leverage its technologies and experience in low-power aerial video exploitation, developed under DARPA and ONR funding to support the ARGUS-IS and WFPAC projects, to address this need. The proposed system would provide the ability to process the full field-of-view of WAMI sensors, detect and track targets, and transmit only interesting imagery, events, and metadata back to the ground, conserving both bandwidth and operator attention. For Phase I, the OV team will survey low-power COTS processing hardware, particularly that designed for the competitive mobile consumer electronics market. The most promising candidates will be evaluated in the lab against a benchmark consisting of representative video processing and exploitation algorithms. Evaluation metrics emphasize algorithmic performance, power consumption, and ease of development and integration, with a goal of producing a usable prototype for Phase II. BENEFIT: Anticipated benefits of the proposed solution are: Low-SWAP, low-cost COTS hardware platform Robust video exploitation system built to scale to very large resolutions with minimal hardware footprint Focus on ease of development and integration aids future development Leverages recent DoD research efforts The proposed solution has potential applications in both DoD and commercial markets. The technology to be developed under this project is adaptable and applicable to a wide range of aerial surveillance systems. The small target form factor and power consumption will enable advanced analytics and exploitation capabilities on aerial platforms previously limited by SWaP and bandwidth constraints. The solution also has applications in ground-based sensors. ObjectVideo has experience developing low-power rapidly-deployable sentry cameras and applications for mobile devices carried by warfighters, which share similar hardware platforms. Advancing the exploitation capabilities of these applications has tremendous benefits. ObjectVideo commercialized an embedded video exploitation software library, which is licensed to OEM camera and DVR manufacturers under the name ObjectVideo OnBoard. These libraries provide similar features to the proposed system, such as rule-based event detection, albeit for lower resolution, largely fixed, terrestrial camera feeds. The techniques developed in optimizing power consumption and performance can be put to direct use in these OnBoard implementations. The additional capabilities offered by this solution, such as the ability to process very high resolutions and accommodate moving cameras, will also prove marketable in an advanced commercial product."
Video Data to DDMS Cards,N00014-13-C-0275,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,1209974.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191-,No,No,No,Paul Brewer,"VP, New Technology",(703) 725-3084,pbrewer@objectvideo.com,Zeeshan Rasheed,Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9300,zrasheed@objectvideo.com,"In Phase-I, ObjectVideo (OV) prototyped a system that ingests video from a variety of sensors (airborne, ground-based, maritime) and generates meta-data representing their contents in the form of modified DoD Discovery Metadata Specification (DDMS) cards that provide a compact representation of targets, their attributes, trajectories, and scene elements. This information is combined with the context of mission goals and specific needs of warfighters, specified as queries using interactive interfaced, in order to identify and retrieve relevant video clips. In the Phase-II, OV will advance this technology by creating DDMS adapter SDK that will allow existing ISR platforms to integrate this capability assisting in sensor data exploitation by large ISR enterprises, such as DCGS-MC, by providing a flexible and scalable data framework enabling horizontal integration of formats and capabilities, including NATOs, STANAG4676 and NGA's MISB. A real-time automated video dispatcher will analyze the DDMS cards as they become available and identify video segments of interest based on operators'and warfighters'needs. Necessary extensions to DDMS specifications will be made to support detection of complex events. The system will be designed using open architecture in which system components will be implemented as services allowing ease of integration, scalability and platform independent operations."
Advanced Deposition Capability for Oxidation&Corrosion Protection Coatings,NNX13CC70P,NASA,NASA,STTR,2013,1,123970.00,"Directed Vapor Technologies International, Inc.",2 Boars Head Lane,,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Matthew Terry,Business Official,4342963678,mmterry@directedvapor.com,Susie Eustis,Research Scientist,4349771405,susie.eustis@directedvapor.com,"NASA's long range goals of reducing the fuel consumption by 30% and increasing fuel efficiency by 35% can be partially accomplished through increasing engine operation temperatures. As a result, the disk section is desired to operate in increasingly higher temperatures, which will subject it to additional degradation mechanisms of oxidation and hot corrosion. One approach to enhance the temperature capability of these systems is through the incorporation of environmental protective coatings which can provide resistance from oxidation and hot corrosion. Research is proposed here to optimize the use of advanced coating manufacturing techniques designed to enable the affordable application of environmental protective coatings having enhanced resistance to hot corrosion and oxidation to allow operation at the desired high temperature engine environments. Advanced testing conditions will be used to simulate real world conditions and demonstrate the performance of the deposited coatings in these conditions. This approach is envisioned to aid the development of advanced coatings required to protect the surface of turbine disk components at higher temperatures desired for fuel and thrust operationally improvement without inducing significant fatigue debit. Advanced coating systems will be applied in this work onto coupons, and subcomponents to demonstrate coating capability and allow simulated engine environment testing in follow on programs. Success in meeting the objectives will significantly aid the temperature capability of turbine disk components, allowing significant fuel efficiency and thrust increases for turbine engines."
Quantitative assessments leveraging effects based analysis for degraded PNT,FA8650-13-c-1619,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749842.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technical Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge and George Mason University propose to mature, enhance and further demonstrate the PNT equipment hardware in the loop (HiTL) test asset successfully prototyped in Phase I. The risk reduction prototyping accomplished in Phase I illustrated how efficient and automatic testing of the effects of degraded position, navigation and timing (PNT) on host systems can be done in the context of the DYnamic Spectrum Environment emulator (DYSE) technology. The Phase II design and development activities will result in a deliverable prototype system capable of demonstrating functionality, value, mitigated development risk and compatibility with a wide variety of existing and anticipated augmentation methods. It will be at a maturity level and documented such that third parties can operate it in a wide variety of testing scenarios. A key innovation in the proposed research will continue to be the application of an adaptive, automated test scheduler based on stochastic multi-dimensional optimal search algorithms to efficiently produce valid test results. In Phase II, we will couple the adaptive test scheduler with a rule-based expert system to capture subject matter expert (SME) testing methodology to promote rapid search through the universe of test cases. We will also incorporate a data base into the design to organize and capture set up, run time and post processed information. The test asset functionality will automatically collect data; emulate GNSS; emulate secondary PNT such as IMUs, other RF sources and assistance data such as D-GPS; emulate interference signals; emulate RF paths between GNSS/interference and PNT systems including complex urban multipath profiles; emulate PNT system host platform effects including motion; and emulate antenna patterns. The test asset will continue to leverage technology developed through Air Force and Army Phase I and II SBIR funding for DYSE. DYSE emulates RF environments by converting RF to/from digital samples, and synthesizing RF sources and environmental effects in the digital domain. BENEFIT: The direct benefit from this project will be the availability of an effective test fixture that provides an improved understanding of how augmented PNT systems operate in different environmental conditions. Such a capability has applicability to a multitude of government and commercial markets including defense, homeland security, in-vehicle navigation and personal navigation. Indirect benefits come from improved RF system testing functionality which will serve the greater wireless industry. Wireless systems, for both the DoD and commercial market places, have increased functionality, applicability, capability, complexity and adaptability. Mobile ad-hoc networks with MIMO antenna technology and cognitive radio networks, capable of carrying voice and data through packet services, are a good example of the trends. There is an established and growing need to comprehensively test and evaluate the performance of these new devices and systems prior to general availability and approval for service use. Traditional test methods are increasingly stressed by the proliferation and diversity of the devices and systems, and the diverse and complex operating environments. This project provides an improved testing environment for more realistic and reliable testing."
GPS Enhanced Dynamic Spectrum Access,FA8650-13-C-1608,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749930.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technical Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"ABSTRACT: Echo Ridge and partner Wright State University (WSU) propose to prototype and evaluate the Phase I-developed novel performance enhancing signal processing algorithms enabled by dynamic spectrum access (DSA)-based cognitive radio (CR) and GPS navigation functionality operating on a common software defined radio (SDR) platform in a cognitive network (CN) (Elemental SDR-hosted Cross Application Performance Enhancements, ESCAPE). We will quantitatively show the benefit of exploiting functionality and information traditionally present in each organic application to provide mutual-benefit through tightly coupling measurements in the multifunction common SDR-cognitive network context. ESCAPE benefits to be demonstrated will include improved communications and reduced primary user (PU) interference performance for DSA radios, improved position, velocity and time (PVT) performance for GPS, and improved robustness to unintentional and intentional interference for both applications. The evaluation and demonstration activities produce both comprehensive laboratory grade performance data as well as field demonstrations. BENEFIT: Commercialization opportunities for the subject technology are numerous in both the commercial and DoD sectors. Deployment and widespread adoption of cognitive radio and cognitive radio networks is very slowing progressing in commercial uses due to the issues such as the likelihood of causing increased interference for incumbent spectrum users. In some cases, incumbent users may be public safety personnel whose lives could be placed in danger without reliable communication and location capabilities. The proposed technology offers to improve the cooperation between primary users and secondary users in the increasingly crowded RF spectrum. In addition, through the development proposed, high-dividends could result from a tighter-coupling of electronic sub-systems found in GPS and software defined communications systems. Sharing of hardware and processing could lead to lower overall costs, reduced size and power, and significantly improved communications and navigation performance. This same technology would equally benefit the DoD, which faces increasingly scarce spectrum due to the high demands for revenue-bearing consumer applications. Lastly, through the fusion of DSA and GPS, an unparalleled level of information assurance is offered which provides protection against electronic attacks in both communications and navigation application areas."
Improved Radio Frequency (RF) Modeling for Correlated Environment Communication System Simulators with Sensor Simulators,N68335-13-C-0205,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749838.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,Joseph Kennedy,President,(571) 748-4892,joe.kennedy@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,Chief Technical Officer,(703) 437-0404,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"Echo Ridge and partner Rockwell Collins propose to mature, enhance and further demonstrate the out the window (OTW)-synchronized RF environment emulator technology prototyped and demonstrated in Phase I. The Phase II design and development activities will result in a deliverable prototype system capable of demonstrating functionality, value, mitigated development risk and compatibility with fielded flight trainer systems. It will be used to introduce and promote the technology towards a Phase III activity and adoption into the training community. The prototype will be capable of accurately emulating the RF environment in a manner that is synchronous with the flight path/dynamics and resultant OTW view from an aircraft cockpit as simulated in a flight simulator. The effect on communication systems, sensors and instrumentation is as though they were truly subjected to the RF operating environment encountered by the aircraft. The system calculates these characteristics on-the-fly (OTF) as the instructor/pilot operates the simulator. A primary objective of the RF path simulation is to add as much realism as possible while minimizing latency so that the RF modeling emulation is correlated with the other flight trainer systems and cockpit displays."
SBIR Phase I: Efficient Testing Methodologies for Adaptive Radios,1315145,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"Echo Ridge, LLC",100 Carpenter Drive,Suite 135,Sterling,VA,-,No,No,No,John Carlson,,7033487155,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,John Carlson,,7033487155,john.carlson@echoridgenet.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will perform research toward developing new behavior characterization methodologies that allow adaptive/cognitive radios to be rapidly introduced into the market improving spectrum utilization and therefore broadband access for all. Expected results include a closed loop test fixture design that dynamically creates realistic RF environments in response to measured adaptive system behavior in a laboratory setting, controlled by an efficient adaptive search algorithm. The complexities involved in simulating realistic dynamic RF environments, sufficient to characterize the behavior of adaptive systems, drive the number of testing cases into the hundreds of millions and test time to many years. The adaptive search problem will be solved using globally optimized experimental alternatives and multi-dimensional splitting levels yielding high confidence results and reasonable test times. The project will combine this efficient search adaptive, rare-event approach with the company's unique dynamic RF environment emulation capabilities to create virtual RF environments that support comprehensive hardware-in-the-loop testing. The intellectual merit of the proposed research lies in combining and improving these unique capabilities in the critical application area of adaptive/cognitive radio testing yielding improved spectrum access. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is acceleration of the deployment of adaptive/cognitive radios, offering the prospect of ubiquitous broadband access to the nation's underserved. Lack of universal broadband access, increasingly essential to daily life, is hurting the U.S. The 2012 PCAST report recommends using adaptive/cognitive radio as a solution to meeting these increased demands with existing spectrum, but acknowledges the lack of robust testing capabilities to ensure non-interfering coexistence with incumbent systems. The challenge of deploying adaptive radio technology is that it cannot be fielded without comprehensive testing, and cannot be tested in a live, densely populated RF system environment for fear of interfering with existing spectrum users. This project will develop a system to efficiently validate adaptive radios in the laboratory with field level fidelity. Efficient, high quality testing offers the potential for quicker deployments at significantly reduced costs. The potential uses for adaptive/cognitive radios include commercial fixed and mobile wireless, ad-hoc network, satellite, aviation, DoD, Intel and public safety with potential revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars. This project may benefit millions of underserved individuals and enhance scientific and technological understanding of adaptive, rare-event search techniques as applied to adaptive/cognitive radios."
Home Gait Assessment System,2R44AG034698-02,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,964641.00,EMPIRICAL TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION,"BOX 8175, 3046A BERKMAR DRIVE",,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22906-8175,No,No,No,David W. Gerdt,,434-296-7000,davidetc@firstva.com,Martin C. Baruch,,434-296-7000,mcbaruch@comcast.net,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Falls among the elderly, one of the most common reasons requiring medical intervention and a contributing factor in 40% of nursing home admissions, are a major health problem. Several studies have identified quantifiable gait markers that appear to distinguish between elderly fallers and non-fallers. These studies have relied on data acquired in gait-laboratories. Extending gait assessment capability, and falls detection, into the home could provide valuable before-the-fact information on gait weakness evolution, which in turn could be used to assess the efficiency of counter measures. Current mobile gait analysis techniques are insufficient because they rely on compliance or are too intrusive. The development of a newgait assessment monitor is proposed. The device is passive and obtains gait data from miniature, shoe-worn, wireless devices, precluding the need to put on sensors, watches etc, walk on special surfaces, or be observed by cameras. This study's principal aim is to validate the device's performance through a comparison with accepted gait assessment techniques at the Motion Analysis and Motor Performance Laboratory at the University of Virginia Health System as well as a comparison study with accepted gait assessment tests at a local retirement community. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Falls among the elderly, one of the most common reasons requiring medical intervention and a contributing factor in 40% of nursing home admissions,are a major health problem. Several studies have identified quantifiable gait markers that appear to distinguish between elderly fallers and non-fallers. These studies have relied on data acquired in gait-laboratories. Extending gait assessment capability, and falls detection, into the home could provide valuable before-the-fact information on gait weakness evolution, which in turn could be used to assess the efficiency of counter measures. Current mobile gait analysis techniques are insufficient becausethey rely on compliance or are too intrusive. The development of a new gait assessment monitor is proposed. The device is passive and obtains gait data from miniature, shoe-worn, wireless devices, precluding the need to put on sensors, watches etc,. walkon special surfaces, or be observed by cameras. This study's principal aim is to validate the device's performance through a comparison with accepted gait assessment techniques at the Motion Analysis and Motor Performance Laboratory at the University of Virginia Health System as well as a comparison study with accepted gait assessment tests at a local retirement community."
Multi-layer Ever-changing Self-defense Service (MESS),HSHQDC-13-C-00048,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2013,2,749227.95,Endeavor Systems,8300 Greensboro Drive,Suite 600,McLean,VA,22102-3604,Yes,No,No,Jiemin Li,,,jiemin.jordan@endeavorsystems.com,Will Hickie,,,will.hickie@gmail.com,"Today's static IT systems allow adversaries time to plan and launch attacks. Endeavor proposes a Multi-layer, Ever changing, Self-defense Service
(MESS) that is resilient and manageable. MESS prevents attackers from exploiting a target system by removing the static network & system attributes
that simplify reconnaissance. Continuously refreshing the target system to a new virtual instance with a known trusted state and random service
attributes, this limited-time-use virtual instance is comprised of a single application and OS combination and reduces system complexity.
During Phase II, Endeavor will develop WebPurify, a DNSSEC-aware application that will build on our successful Phase I MESS prototype.
WebPurify focuses on protecting web services, including web content delivery. Today, web security products detect and block attacks by enforcing
acceptable use policies, and analyzing web traffic, content, etc. Powered by MESS, WebPurify allows multi-layer protections by deploying public
interface obfuscation and live service migration technique. It conceals the public interface from adversaries and enables web services to self-defend and
self-recover. WebPurify is a game-changing cyber defense system, not by detecting, but by concealing; not by blocking, but by cleaning.
By Phase II completion, WebPurify will handle high traffic volume and multiple simultaneous connections, and be ready for the pilot/field test.
Endeavor will work with clients and partners like DHS, Air Force, and McAfee to outline a pilot/field test plan. We'll develop a market plan for SaaS
providers who can benefit directly from WebPurify as they have large attack surfaces and extensive virtualized infrastructure."
A Thermo-responsive Biopharmaceutical to Enhance the Tear Production of Lacritin,1R41EY022514-01A1,HHS,HHS,STTR,2013,1,146388.00,"EYERX RESEARCH, INC.",208 EAST PLUME STREET,SUITE 245,NORFOLK,VA,23514-,No,No,No,Cassandra G. Sherry,,757-624-1258,cassie@eyerx-research.com,Sandeep Samudre,,757-624-1258,SandeepSamudre@gmail.com,"Project Summary/Abstract Ocular pharmaceuticals predominantly use the topical route of administration, which involves a number of benefits and limitations when compared to systemic drug routes. A major limitation of the ocular topical route is the rapid loss of drug via tearing and nasolacrimal drainage, requiring the use of frequent dosing and high drug concentrations that then create formulation difficulties, together with the potential for local and systemic adverse effects. The proposed innovation is touse the temperature sensitivity of the genetically engineered smart polymer class of elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) to control ocular clearance. ELPs have unique properties that promote phase separation, recombinant expression, protein purification, andself-assembly of nanostructures. ELPs are repeated pentameric peptides, (VPGXG)n, that have characteristic inverse phase transition temperatures, Tt, above which they phase separate from aqueous solution. By selecting X and the length n, ELPs of differentTt can be efficiently and precisely biosynthesized. Genetically engineered ELPs are pharmacologically relevant, being monodisperse, biodegradable, and biocompatible. Lacritin, a new-found, short glycoprotein promotes tear secretion in dry eye models but must be administered several times a day. Lacritin will be genetically fused with ELPs of different transition temperatures and molecular weights to optimize the construct for drug retention. Free, active lacritin is expected to be in equilibrium with the ELP aggregates, thus extending ocular lacritin residency. ELPs with a transition temperature greater than 37 C should clear quickly from the eye; however, ELPs with transition temperature between room temperature (25 C) and body temperature (37 C) are expected to drain slowly. The following specific aims are designed to serve as a proof of concept of this idea: SA1) Synthesis and in vitro demonstration of lacritin-ELP thermal sensitivity. Thermally sensitive and insensitive ELPs with and without fluorescent labels will be prepared with molecular weights ranging from 10 to 50 kD and fused to lacritin. Our milestone will be to produce a thermally sensitive ELP-lacritin that will have a transition temperature of between 25 and 37 C, suitable for use in an eye drop. SA2) Efficacy and tolerability evaluation of lacritin-ELP in in vivo normal rabbit and in vitro Ussing chamber ocular models. Optimal fusion peptides will be evaluated for residency, ocular tolerability and lacritin-stimulated tear formation in in vivonormal rabbit models and in in vitro Ussing chamber residency experiments. Our milestone is to demonstrate that the thermally-sensitive lacritin-ELP is more effective than the thermally-insensitive product at increasing tear production without significantlocal or systemic toxicity. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Ocular pharmaceuticals are often formulated as eye drops, which have a number of benefits and the major limitation of the rapid loss of drug via tearing and drainage. To combat this drug loss, high drug concentrations are used that then create formulation and drug scheduling difficulties, together with the potential for local and systemic adverse effects. The long term goal of this proposal is to explore an innovative strategy forprolonging the retention of drugs in the eye by using a temperature-sensitive drug vehicle which transitions from a fluid at room temperature to a gel at body (eye) temperature, thereby slowing drug loss."
Multi-flux fiber optic probe of nuclear fuel performance,DE-FG02-13ER90698,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,225000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Ms.,5409616724,submissions301@lunainc.com,Bryan Dickerson,Dr.,5409614524,submissions301@lunainc.com,"Current commercial reactor fuel performance monitoring uses external power range monitors, and evaluates coolant water for contamination that would indicate failure of a fuel element. Estimates of the localized fission rates and temperature distributions within the reactor core are approximated using nuclear simulation codes. Real-time characterization of local in-core radiation field parameters would let the operation of various reactor designs (whether present PWRs, new modular LWRs, or future Gen-IV high temperature gas cooled reactors) be safely adjusted for optimum generation efficiency and fuel utilization. Luna will develop miniature fiber-optic probe technology to simultaneously measure the following 4 radiation field parameters in real-time from the same location: total neutron flux, thermal neutron flux, gamma flux, and temperature. Reactor and laboratory testing will demonstrate the utility, stability, accuracy, and endurance to radiation at high-temperatures, as well as the ability to read these sensors despite significant radiation fiber darkening. During Phase I, Luna will invent these new sensors. Tests at The Ohio State University Research Reactor (OSURR) will demonstrate their multi- parameter sensing capabilities. During Phase II, Luna will advance and demonstrate the performance of multi-parameter probes, leveraging the high temperature lead-out irradiation facility for fiber optic sensors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor (MIT-R) producing a total neutron fluence of 2E20 n/cm2 each 6 week cycle to emulate normal operation or accident conditions. During all irradiations, sensor response will be monitored continuously using Lunas most advanced interrogation platform. Luna will design these probes to support advanced fuel cycle tests in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Lunas fiber optic multi-flux sensors are a cross-cutting technology, designed to support a variety of nuclear power plants (and adaptable to fossil fuel plants with modification) so they can operate safely just below their maximum rated power levels and temperatures to achieve their optimum electrical generation efficiency. By monitoring local neutron and gamma flux and temperature profiles along fuel elements, these sensors can help operators adjust local fission rates for ideal fuel utilization efficiency and can help validate the performance of new fuel designs during in-pile irradiation tests."
Autonomous Foam Monitoring and Control for VCHT Systems,N00024-13-P-4508,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,80000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions307@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainnovations.com,"Vacuum collection, holding and transfer (VCHT) systems are used on the newest Navy ships to reduce collected sewage volume to achieve desired holding capability when operating in littoral waters where discharge is restricted. Vacuum collection systems use sewage powered ejectors to discharge urinal and water closet waste into holding tanks that are vented to atmosphere. These high velocity multiphase flows from sewage powered ejectors can cause foam buildup. Luna and our team members BIW, Evac and Nalco propose to resolve the holding tank foaming issues by developing an automated foam detection and control system that is compatible with existing and future VCHT systems. The foam control system will be based on novel induction sensors with embedded processing to automatically recognize foam generation. The sensor will be robust to survive the demanding VCHT environment, and sensitive enough to discriminate foaming from fouling and normal tank conditions. When a foaming event is detected, the system will initiate delivery of environmentally compliant defoamer and antifoaming agents via an automated chemical delivery system that is integrated with the VCHT system."
Affinity Matrix System for Large-Scale Protein Purification,W911NF-13-C-0032,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,100000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainnovations.com,Michael Danilich,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0159,danilichm@lunainnovations.com,"Though vast improvements have been made in various protein expression platforms, limitations arise in the implementation of current purification methods. Traditional chromatographic methods are time intensive, carry heavy material costs, and are difficult to scale - reducing the benefits achieved in protein expression. Affinity-binding methods are promising for scale-up and swiftness of purification, but the necessary resins can be expensive and difficult to adapt to purify proteins from new expression platforms. To respond to this need, Luna proposes the development of a low-cost affinity matrix with a high surface area to provide substantial binding regions for targeted proteins of interest. This system will allow for the purification of any protein expressed with the cellulose binding module and intein self-cleaving tag, an expression possible with many proteins in a wide variety of host organisms. The implementation of this low-cost affinity matrix and widely applicable purification system will allow for fast, simple, inexpensive purification of any target protein."
Microhydrogel Depot for Sustained Delivery of Prophylactic Bioscavenger,W911QY-13-P-0170,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,100000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions307@lunainc.com,Zhiguo Zhou,Principal Investigator,(434) 483-4234,zhouz@lunainc.com,"Neurotoxic organophosphorus (OP) agents (e.g. sarin, soman, VX and tabun) were developed initially as pesticides and adapted for chemical warfare. OP agents are fast acting and lethal at even very low doses. Countering the threat of intoxication by OP nerve agents is an important mission for homeland security. Currently, the most promising strategy to counter OP intoxication is to scavenge the agents using injectable butyrylcholinesterase. BuChE has low substrate specificity and thus may offer a broad spectrum protection against OP agents by irreversible binding to the toxins. Human plasma-derived BuChE is effective but it is difficult to produce large quantities. Recombinant BuChE lack the necessary stability and extended circulation over sufficient periods to provide adequate prophylaxis while minimizing the need for repeated administration. Luna proposes to develop a microhydrogel-based physiological depot for long-term delivery of recombinant BuChE at proper release rates. The intramuscularly injectable depot will be able to maintain BuChE plasma concentration that is effective to bioscavenger OP agents for multiple weeks. Phase I will demonstrate the technical feasibility using in vitro assays assisted by computational modeling and Phase II will demonstrate the depot performance in appropriate animal models in preparation of IND filing."
Rapid Fluorescent Assays for Coliforms in Shipboard Wastewater,N00024-13-P-4541,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79998.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Michael Danilich,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0159,danilichm@lunainnovations.com,"One challenge encountered aboard marine vessels is the treatment, storage, and discharge of wastewater from marine sanitation devices (MSDs). Improperly treated waste water has a high potential for transmitting diseases and harming the ecosystem. The presence of Escherichia coli is routinely used as a key indicator of poor wastewater treatment. Conventional E. coli assays, which are required to detect fewer than 100 bacteria/ml, are laborious selective culture plating methods and require 24-48 hours to complete, increasing onboard storage and sanitation requirements. During Phase I, Luna""s rapid fluorescent viability assays, previously developed for monitoring biothreat bacteria, will be adapted for use with E coli and non-fecal coliforms. To rapidly predict the efficacy of MSDs, we will develop and validate high-throughput syringe formats for detection of coliforms by enzyme hydrolysis of fluorescent substrates. Luna Innovations proposes to i) down select fluorescent assays, ii) optimize enzyme induction, iii) develop a rapid high-through syringe filter format and iv) demonstrate the fluorescent format using fresh MSD wastewater effluents. During Phase II, Luna will i) validate the methods, ii) perform full scale evaluations on Naval vessels, iii) explore potential sources for Phase III support and iv) begin transition to NAVSEA for acquisition and commercialization."
Toughened Fabrics with Counter-WMD Functionality for Daily Wear,HDTRA1-13-P-0006,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Senior Contracts Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainnovations.com,Robert Klein,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2517,kleinr@lunainnovations.com,"Military personnel and first responders must be prepared to operate under the threat of a wide range of CBRNE threats (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosive) and rapidly counter WMD hazards. Daily-wear uniforms such as the army combat uniform (ACU) or the CWU-27/P flight suit are breathable and lightweight and provide basic abrasion and fire protection, but are not capable of significant CBRNE protection. On the other end of the spectrum, CBRNE suits offer protection from a variety of WMD threats, but must be donned post-WMD-event because they are heavy, easily punctured or torn, and exhibit poor breathability and launderability. This lack of multifunctional garments for soldier protection significantly degrades survivability. New materials are sought to significantly enhance the counter-WMD / CBRNE functionality of the ACU or CWU-27/P while remaining lightweight, breathable, and durable. Luna Innovations, teaming with a major U.S. uniform manufacturer, proposes to develop a new garment material that will offer increased toughness as well as protection from hazardous liquids and particulates. Garments composed of these new materials could be worn daily, exhibit enhanced durability, and offer enhanced CBRNE protection with the appropriate accessories. Luna will leverage extensive experience with textile treatments for this program."
Encapsulation Technology for Increased Environmental Stability of Vertebrate Cells,W9132T-13-C-0004,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainnovations.com,Blaine Butler,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2509,butlerb@lunainnovations.com,"Luna Innovations is developing stabilization technology for increased long-term storage of various biological moieties (e.g. enzymes, nucleic acids, and whole cells). This unique stabilization matrix allows for extended cell viability lifetime, minimizing cell maintenancerequirements while retaining physiological activity. The proposed encapsulated cell technology will provide significant improvements in cell lifetime, operational stability, with decreased maintenance requirements, and is easily integrated into a variety of sensing based platforms allowing for optical and/or electrical reporting metrics. During Phase I Luna will demonstrate stable long-term cell viability with enhanced environmental stability for a variety of cell lines (including mammalian cells) for a minimum of 8 weeks while still retaining physiological cellular activity. Phase II will focus on extending the cell viability and function to a minimum of 6 months for an increased variety of cell types while also working to integrate the stabilization technology into a microfluidic chip for incorporation into the SafePort water analysis system."
Application of Biopolymer for Soil Revegetation and Stabilization,W912HZ-13-P-0101,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Elizabeth Gaudin,Senior Contracts Administrator,(540) 557-5881,submissions302@lunainnovations.com,Ben Beck,Principal Investigator,(540) 961-4506,beckb@lunainnovations.com,"Military training activities often result in environmental degradation due to creation of heavily disturbed soil areas including dirt road beds, vehicular training areas, tank trails, terrain subject to wildfires, artillery impact areas, helipads and dirt landing areas for aircraft. These areas are currently resistant to revegetation efforts and are also susceptible to sediment loss through water erosion and the generation of dust through wind erosion. Traditional revegetation and dust reduction processes requires application of a moisture retention agent, typically a petroleum-derived polymer. Surface applied fertilization provides temporary vegetative growth but often leads to nutrient transport to and utrophication of surface waters, while petrochemical products most often used as soil additives are known to leach carcinogenic monomers. Luna Innovations, in collaboration with Virginia Tech, has developed a comprehensive system for the treatment of disturbed soils with a versatile bio-based formulation for revegetation and soil stabilization. This green system will take advantage of the Army""s Rhizobium tropici biopolymer""s unique properties and combine them with a cost effective and efficient treatment and delivery method. Luna""s technology will be compatible with conventional loosening and hydroseeding equipment, and will eliminate the use of all petroleum-based additives in the formulation."
Fiber Optic Shape Sensing for Tethered Marsupial Rovers,NNX13CP33P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Business Official,5409616724,evanss@lunainc.com,Emily Horrell,Principal Investigator,5409534259,horrelle@lunainc.com,"Luna Innovations Incorporated is proposing to design, build, and test a shape, length, and tension sensing tether for robotic exploration and sample-gathering missions on remote planets and moons. The proposed tether system is capable of determining the location and orientation of marsupial robots as they navigate difficult terrain. The tether system will also provide shape and tension information along the entire tether, distinguishing elevation changes, tension due to snags, and potential points of harm. The tension feedback is particularly crucial, as it can be used to determine whether the rover has fallen down a slope or cliff, lost traction, or whether it is still moving under its own power. The system is based on Luna's unique fiber optic position and shape sensing technology, and is an enabling technology for obtaining images, data, and samples in areas with difficult terrain. In addition to providing new, vital feedback, the fiber optic shape sensor within the tether is lightweight, small, and flexible. Luna's unique shape sensing fiber also has the potential to provide both communication and power through the same fiber, further reducing the size and weight of the total tether package."
Insect Resistant Textiles for Military Clothing,W911QY-13-P-0219,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,97904.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Elizabeth Coalson,CO,(540) 557-5881,submissions302@lunainc.com,Jessica Domino,Principal Investigator,(540) 558-1669,dominoj@lunainc.com,"There is a need for a durable, non-toxic textile that is protective against vector-borne diseases, effective after repeating wear and laundering, and compatible with current / future military uniforms. The insect resistant textile is also expected to have no detrimental effect on the physical properties of the textile fabric. Luna, teamed with North Carolina State University (NCSU), is addressing the Armys need to develop insect resistant uniforms that will provide a physical barrier to the penetration of an insect proboscis. This proposed program with build upon our teams ongoing efforts in this area to evaluate the physical properties required for these fabrics to prevent insect bites, as well as provide the flexibility and breathability with the physical and thermal comfort for our war fighters. This development will build on existing technology and processing methods to ensure the above properties are attained as well as mechanical durability, launderability, and low cost."
Durable Hydrophobic Barrier Coating for the Remote Minehunting Tow Cable,N00024-13-P-4578,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,80000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Adam Goff,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2513,goffa@lunainc.com,"The tow cable strands used to tow the AQS-20A from the RMMV are made from Nitronic 50, an austenitic stainless steel that, under normal circumstances, exhibits excellent corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. Unfortunately, the cables are experiencing early life corrosion problems due to salt water deposit buildup that occurs over repeated operations and subsequent system stowage. Because of the difficulty and logistics associated with retrieving and storing the RMS on the LCS platform, freshwater rinsing and other cleaning methods are unacceptable. Therefore, Luna Innovations and its team will apply a sol-gel derived, mechanically-durable and optically-transparent, hydrophobic coating that has excellent watershedding properties and that is easily applied to RMS tow cables in a thin and low-cost package. The primary function of the coating will be to shed salt water through its inherent hydrophobic nature as the RMS is retrieved from the sea. This capability will drastically reduce the propensity of salt accumulation on the stainless steel tow cable assembly. In addition, Luna will include corrosion inhibiting compounds and/or pigments to provide a secondary line of defense against corrosion processes."
High Pressure Composite Air Flasks for SCUBA Systems,N00024-13-P-4037,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79996.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Elizabeth Coalson,Senior Contracts Administ,(540) 557-5881,submissions302@lunainc.com,Daniel Metrey,Principal Investigator,(540) 961-4509,metreyd@lunainc.com,"Current air flasks utilized by the Navy for SCUBA diving weigh about 40 lbs and are rated for 3,000 psi internal pressure, providing 30 minutes to an hour of air supply from a single tank. The Navy desires to increase mission capability for free-swimming divers, but air supply remains the most significant impediment to this goal. Development of smaller air flasks and a regulator system that could accommodate up to 10,000 psi of internal air pressure is sought. However, flasks manufactured using similar materials to those currently in service would be far too heavy and bulky if fabricated to meet this pressure. Lighter weight materials are required. Luna Innovations Incorporated will team with a leading commercial producer of DOT approved composite air flasks to design a flask and regulator system to meet the Navy""s desired criteria. The manufacturer""s extensive experience in the design and manufacture of flasks for DoD, including underwater applications, will be leveraged with Luna""s novel optical fiber strain sensing technology to streamline design. Weight savings will be optimized by intimately calibrating measured material response to design models. Furthermore, this non-intrusive sensing system will enable a means of health monitoring, reducing operational risk and maintenance costs."
Nanofiber Functionalized 3D S-Glass Reinforced Transparent Ballistic Composite,N00014-13-P-1116,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Robert Jeffers,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-7685,jeffersr@lunainc.com,"Transparent armor usually ranks among the heaviest of all materials on tactical vehicles per size and weighs significantly more than opaque armor at the same protection level. This is due to the large thicknesses required to provide the required ballistic protection. For this reason, transparent armor is one of the first places engineers look to reduce overall weight, leading to the reduction in size of transparent armor windows, significantly restricting the field of view afforded to military personnel making them more vulnerable to outside threats. Novel material solutions are required to reduce the weight and thickness relative to current transparent armor. To this end, Luna Incorporated proposes a transparent three dimensional woven S-glass fiber reinforced polyurethane composite armor material. The S-glass fibers will be specially coated with a nanofiber functionalized sol-gel interface layer to provide enhanced fiber matrix interaction. The sol-gel layer will also be formulated with a tuned refractive index and coefficient of thermal expansion to maintain optical clarity during temperature changes. The resulting transparent armor material will be lightweight and environmentally stable allowing for enhanced multi-hit ballistic performance."
Extreme Environment Stress and Strain Sensing System,FA8650-13-M-2365,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions301@lunainc.com,Matthew Davis,Principal Investigator,(540) 558-1696,davism@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Luna Innovations Incorporated is proposing to develop an extreme environment stress and strain measurement system capable of operating at temperatures>900°C (1652°F) and streaming static and dynamic data at 5kHz. The system will consist of a multichannel readout system, extreme environment transducers, and different, but easily applied, methods of attachment for a metallic and a composite substrate. Accurate high temperature strain measurements are critical in the development and characterization of modern aerospace materials and validation of vehicle and component performance models. These models are used in determining design parameters and material selection for high speed flight vehicles and component life prediction. Without accurate strain data in the presence of both high temperatures and large loads, the safety and reliability of the system can be placed in jeopardy. Currently there are no methods capable of accurately providing such data. During Phase I Luna will design and demonstrate the feasibility of a prototype readout system and sensors. During Phase II the system will be optimized to meet the performance requirements needed for the Air Force and a prototype delivered for testing. Phase III will transition the technology to the Air Force and commercial industry through Luna""s Product Development Division. BENEFIT: The proposed system will meet the Air Force""s needs for an extreme environment strain measurement system capable of providing accurate static and dynamic data at high speeds. Other agencies such as NASA, DARPA, and the Navy which are performing research on extreme environment materials and systems will also benefit from the technology developed during this program. The system and sensors will enable high temperature, extreme load data to be taken in the presence of high electro-magnetic fields to verify turbine and scramjet engine performance, composite heat shield material characterizations, and airframe dynamic response. These capabilities will also make the system desirable to airframe and engine OEM""s to enable performance monitoring and qualification testing which will improve the safety and reliability of commercial transportation. In addition to safety improvements through improved material selection and design, the system will enable structural health monitoring and the collection of remaining useful life data which will reduce maintenance overall ownership costs of commercial transports. Once the technology has been transitioned to the Air Force, Luna will work with commercial partners to complete civilian qualifications and begin marketing the technology for commercial applications."
Ultra-Low Temperature Elastomeric Seals for Aerospace Hydraulic Systems,FA8650-13-M-5064,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2013,1,149999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Robert Klein,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2517,kleinr@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) have recently been operating on extended missions and at higher altitudes. Such operation can cause sections of the aircraft to experience temperatures as low as -100°F, much below the traditional aircraft minimum of -65°F. Currently, in order for the hydraulic systems to function without leakage of the hydraulic oil, heater blankets are used. As heater blankets significantly increase the weight of the aircraft, add complexity to the design, and require electrical power, alternative approaches are needed. Critical weak points within these hydraulic systems are the elastomeric seals (typically o-rings). However, no existing seal materials can satisfy all requirements of this system, as determined from discussions with seal manufacturers and distributors. To satisfy this need, Luna is teaming with several manufacturing and testing experts to develop new o-ring seals with the requisite performance for low-temperature hydraulic systems. Tasks will include fabrication of ultra-low-temperature seals, internal and external testing of the o-ring form factor, and preparation for scale-up and technology transition in tandem with team members. BENEFIT: The proposed Phase I program intends to demonstrate the low-temperature seal for use in aerospace hydraulic systems. This is targeted for drop-in replacement into hydraulic systems of existing and future UAVs. Cost effectiveness will be critical and production methods and teaming arrangements will be developed with cost as a major consideration. Once validated, this new seal would have immediate use in high altitude UAV platforms. There is also a significant potential market for ultra-low-temperature seals to be incorporated into hydraulic systems of other military and commercial aircraft."
"Handheld, Snapshot-Based 3D Fastener Inspector",FA8650-13-M-5057,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions301@lunainc.com,Evan Lally,Principal Investigator,(540) 558-1668,lallye@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Luna proposes to develop a unique, handheld 3D surface inspection tool for accurate measurement of fastener depth and fill flushness on 5th generation fighter jets. This lightweight 3D""camera""will generate automated, snapshot-based 3D maps of filled and unfilled fasteners on the aircraft""s unfinished surfaces. High-resolution 3D surface data is converted to a reading of flushness and depth for multiple fasteners in a single image, with very little user interaction required. This data provides the technician with a repeatable, near-instant reading on whether or not to re-work the fastener. By enabling rapid, accurate, and repeatible inspection of multiple fasteners in a single snapshot, Luna""s 3D fastener inspector will provide a key capability for technicians on the F-35 flight line during the ramp up to high-rate production. The proposed Phase I effort will focus on demonstrating the feasibility of the technology to meet program goals, with an emphasis on demonstrating accuracy and repeatability, simultaneous inspection of multiple fasteners, and operation in the expected production line lighting environment. Luna intends to leverage its strong existing relationships with prime airframe contractors to help guide the technical effort on a path toward realistic transition and commercialization. BENEFIT: The F-35 has over 40,000 filled fasteners on its outer mold line, each of which must be manually filled and inspected for flushness during production. Reduction in the time required to fill and inspect fasteners is critically required to reduce aircraft build time for future full-rate production. Luna""s handheld 3D fastener inspector is a transformative new tool, capable of making accurate non-contact measurements of flushness and depth on multiple fasteners at once. It will directly reduce the time required to inspect fastenrs; and its imroved accuracy and repeatibility will prevent the need for time-consuming re-checking of flushness measurements. The savings in inspection time is directly scaled by the large number of fasteners on the F-35, providing the Air Force and its commercial parteners with a tremendous return-on-investment for the technology. Furthermore, Luna""s handheld 3D imaging system has the cross-cutting potential to streamline other inspection tasks during F-35 production, such as panel gap/step measurement."
Self-Healing Coatings for Corrosion Protection of Repaired Aluminum Components,FA8650-13-M-5069,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Elizabeth Coalson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(540) 557-5881,submissions302@lunainc.com,Ben Beck,Principal Investigator,(540) 961-4506,beckb@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: There is a need to identify, qualify, and certify post-repair corrosion-inhibiting self-healing coatings in order to inhibit further corrosion on aluminum substrates. Many technologies have been developed in academia and industry to reliably identify visible and hidden corrosion on aluminum surfaces and components, restore lost coating material, or create a barrier to future corrosion. The research team at Luna Innovations Incorporated has developed a comprehensive system for the corrosion protection of aerospace components. Luna""s self-healing and anti-corrosion additives can be applied using chrome-free, low-VOC water based primers and we have a strong relationship with established paint manufacturers to meet MIL-SPEC requirements. Luna""s coating system will be suitable for aerospace aluminum alloys, titanium, and composites. By working closely with an aircraft maintenance consulting group, Luna will be able to address potential issues as identified by Depot and Air Force customers, as well as validate that the coating materials and application methods for sustained corrosion protection on war-fighting systems will be quick, mobile, financially viable, and reliable. BENEFIT: The total annual US cost estimates for corrosion related expenses are in excess of $300 billion, or 3.1% of the GDP. Much of the costs are associated with the maintenance of metal materials; 20% of the estimated corrosion-related costs involve scraping and repainting steel structures. A self healing coating will be beneficial to any industry sector that suffers from corrosion, such as infrastructure, transportation, utilities, and production and manufacturing. A durable, thermally stable, autonomous self healing corrosion protection coating will increase serviceable lifetime, reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies. Chrome-free and low-VOC coating systems will also provide an environmentally conscious solution to corrosion."
"Direct Measurement of Fluid Level, Gas Pressure, and Temperature for Autonomous Landing Gear Shock Strut Operational Readiness Evaluation",FA8222-13-M-0004,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administrator,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Nathan Brown,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2501,nbrown@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: Aircraft oleo-pneumatic landing gear shock struts require a precise gas to fluid ratio. Measuring oil fluid level explicitly requires time consuming service and temporary aircraft inoperability. Current approaches to verify the operational readiness of landing gear shock struts forgo measuring oil fluid level directly, and instead compare x-dimension (shock strut extension) to gas pressure and/or aircraft gross weight, often leading to improperly serviced shock struts. Gas pressure is typically adjusted during inspections, which can adversely alter the gas to fluid ratio degrading a shock struts ability to absorb and dissipate impact forces that can result in airframe damage or personnel injuries. An automated method for directly measuring oil fluid level, gas pressure(s), and temperature would yield greater confidence of shock strut operational readiness, and vastly increase inspection efficiency and accuracy. To meet this critical need, Luna proposes to develop a non-obtrusive, ultra low-power, wireless system comprised of conformal solid-sate capacitive fluid level, pressure, and temperature sensors. The system will have the ability to wirelessly transmit in real-time, autonomously record data to embedded memory, and will require minimal retrofit implementation modifications. Finally, the system will be ruggedized to withstand the operating environment with considerations including temperature, vibration, de-icing, and environmental effects. BENEFIT: Successful implementation of the proposed technology will provide aerospace maintainers with an extremely helpful tool to verify the operational readiness of aircraft landing gear shock struts. In addition to the clear benefits of such a sensing system for maintaining, inspecting, and reducing safety risks to DoD aircraft and personnel, potential commercial application for this technology is broad. The proposed shock strut sensing system will benefit the commercial aircraft industry by greatly increasing inspection efficiency and accuracy and decreasing safety risks to aircraft, crew members, and passengers. Oleo-pneumatic shocks are used in numerous industries; they are used to support large industrial equipment, to decelerate railcars, and often incorporated in suspension systems, including automobiles and motorcycles, and therefore are other candidates for this technology. The shock strut sensing system can be used as a tool for evaluating maintenance intervals and performance of maintenance personnel. Additionally, the shock strut sensing system could provide a useful tool for shock design and testing."
Instrumented Test Coupons and Monitoring System for Improved Materials Performance Evaluations,FA8501-13-C-0026,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,735621.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,Senior Contracts Administ,(434) 483-4254,submissions305@lunainc.com,Fritz Friedersdorf,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-0148,friedersdorf@lunainc.com,"ABSTRACT: The annual cost of corrosion for Air Force aircraft and missiles is estimated to $5.4 billion with corrosion accounting for 32.2% of the maintenance budget. Military performance requirements for materials qualification often rely on pass/fail measurements of flat panels exposed in continuous salt fog tests. It is well know that corrosion protection systems and alloys may fail due to other corrosion processes associated with localized corrosion, galvanic couples, and mechanical loading which may not be evaluated using current practices. Although advances have been made in the development of more representative accelerated corrosion tests, similar advancements in the test coupon design and instrumentation have not been realized. Luna is developing a smart test coupon (STC) that incorporates multimodal measurements using affordable, advanced sensors, and monitoring techniques to improve materials evaluation in accelerated laboratory corrosion and service environment testing. The STC system continuously monitors environmental parameters, corrosion, coating performance, and material residual strength throughout a corrosion test. The STC system will support coating and materials technology assessment and demonstration. BENEFIT: The smart test coupon (STC) technology offers a unique capability that presently does not exist. The STC technology enhances existing coupon test methods by adding existing and novel corrosion sensing technologies to achieve a powerful investigative tool. The ability to assess the impact of coatings and inhibitors on the kinetics and cumulative damage of a wide array of corrosion processes will improve both development and qualification activities. This will be important to researchers and users of industrial finishes for aerospace, automotive, marine, and infrastructure applications. Significant societal benefits will be realized through more rapid and safe adoption of environmentally compliant coating systems. The primary market for the system will be research organizations and test laboratories that perform materials development and qualification testing. The system will also be useful for development of accelerated test methods, surveying usage environments, and validating sensor technologies for in-service monitoring."
Preservation Matrix for Improved Biological Specimen Storage and Recovery,D13PC00040,DOD,DARPA,STTR,2013,1,100000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrator,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainnovations.com,Ben Lepene,Director of R&D,(434) 220-2509,butlerb@lunainnovations.com,"Luna Innovations will determine the feasibility of modifying our novel bio-encapsulation technology for enhanced recovery of viral and bacterial targets from swab-like biospecimens. In the proposed Phase I, Luna will work with Dr. Hudson (North Carolina State Univiersity, College of Textiles) in order to modify our encapsulation process for integration with non-woven materials for swab collection. The swab material will be composed of FDA-approved reversible-biopolymers allowing for easy dissolution of the preservation matrix for increased recovery of specimen analytes. Luna's preservation technology has been successfully applied to protein and whole cell encapsulation, providing significant improvements in storage life-time and temperature stability reducing the need for cold chain requirements while improving the accuracy of pathogen detection. In order to demonstrate enhanced recovery of analytes, various pathogens (bacterial and viral) will be tested for viability and detection rate as a function of preservation time and temperature. The compatibility with standard downstream analyses will also be determined. Phase II will focus on increasing preservation time (transport and storage) while also maximizing recovery efficiency of biospecimen analytes and optimizing integration with downstream analytical detection methods."
Enhanced Magnetic Seals and Installation Practices for Rotorcraft Drive Systems,W911W6-14-C-0007,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,497356.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley D. Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainc.com,Adam Goff,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2513,goffa@lunainc.com,"Luna Innovations and its team members are implementing advanced material alternatives in traditional rotorcraft magnetic seal assemblies for direct Army platform applications. Specifically, the team is improving the mated pair combination of the carbon-graphite face seal component and the hard face magnet ring (the mated pair) to develop an enhanced carbon face seal that will enhance seal lifetime and reliability. In addition, modifications to seal installation practices are also being implemented such that improper seal component misalignment propensity is reduced and debris generation and subsequent seal contamination is lessened. These material improvements and installation modifications will lead to higher durability and lower failure rate at improved performance. The initial target platform is the Apache helicopter, although the technology will also be applicable to numerous other Army, DoD, and civilian rotorcraft. The effort will have a significant impact on contributing to the Army's Operations & Sustainment metric goals, thereby enabling the Army and DoD effort for Condition Based Maintenance practices."
Long Range Ion Exchange for Non-Chrome Corrosion Inhibition,N68335-13-C-0070,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,599999.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainnovations.com,James Garrett,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2505,garrettj@lunainnovations.com,"As the roles and materials of modern tactical aircraft have evolved, the coating systems that protect them have become significantly more complicated. Airframe structural components can be especially susceptible to corrosion, as sea water can collect and dwell in these areas. In the coating stack applied to military aircraft, hexavalent chromated primers are used to protect the underlying aluminum structure from corrosion. However, heightened concern over toxicity has led to increased regulation of hex-chrome use and to petitions for their complete replacement with chrome-free inhibitors. Superior corrosion protection is sought, and modern materials may hold the promise of improved corrosion protection without the environmental hazards of chrome. Two novel materials of prominent interest are carbonaceous nanomaterials and non-chrome ion exchange inhibitors. Luna Innovations Incorporated has been developing an innovative chrome-free corrosion resistance primer that synergistically combines these two classes of materials. Luna demonstrated excellent corrosion resistance in the Phase I program in both neutral and acidified salt fog testing."
Zwitterion-Enzymatic Bioresistant Coating,N00014-13-C-0061,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,497453.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Shirley Evans,Sr. Contract Administrato,(540) 961-6724,submissions302@lunainnovations.com,James Garrett,Principal Investigator,(434) 220-2505,garrettj@lunainnovations.com,"Marine biofouling is a significant problem on ship hulls, increasing fuel consumption and decreasing speed/efficiency. Traditional coatings prevent fouling through controlled release of biocidal compounds (e.g. metals, copper or zinc, or organics, tributyltin). The continuous leaching of these biocides has raised environmental impact concerns. A variety of non-biocidal technologies have been attempted, including foul-release coatings and microtextured coatings. However, these systems have proven unable to address the unique demands on US Navy Ships (i.e. long periods of time in dock and sustained periods of low/minimal speed). Luna Innovations and Zwitter Technology have developed two unique, complementary technologies to meet the Navy's needs: zwitterion resins and stabilized enzymatic antifoulers. Building on successful demonstration of bifouling resistance during the Phase I work, Luna will work with Zwitter Technology during the Phase II to optimize and integrate these technologies, resulting in a unique Zwitterion-Enzymatic Bioresistant Coating. This coating will retain the naturally bioresistant, non-fouling properties of the zwitterion resin while also deterring bio-organism proliferation using stabilized enzymatic antifoulers. A significant focus of the Phase II effort will be transitioning the coatings from small scale laboratory test samples to test samples suitable for long-term open ocean static immersion testing."
Enhanced bioscavenger for medical countermeasures against organophosphorus agents,1R41ES022900-01,HHS,HHS,STTR,2013,1,280000.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,,434-483-4254,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,Zhiguo Zhou,,540-769-8400,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Counteracting the threat of intoxication by organophosphorus nerve agents (OP's) is an important mission for homeland security as well as for treating workers exposed to pesticides. OP's act on acetylcholinesterase to prevent synaptic inactivation, thereby leading to immobilization and death on sustained application. Currently, the most promising strategy to counter OP intoxication is to scavenge the agents using recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (rBChE), the major cholinesterase in human which has low substrate specificity and thus offers broad spectrum protection by binding OP's prior to their damaging neurons. Natural BChE levels are too low to afford protection however, and exogenous enzymes are required. PEGylated rBChE offers improved bioavailability and protection relative to recombinant enzymes, however the lifetime is still insufficiently long for effective prophylaxis and the bioavailability is still low, requiring larger doses for an effective therapy. Luna propose an alternative strategy to enhance and extend the efficacy of recombinant BChE in vivo based on a novel, proven protein formulation technology. Recombinant BChE is encapsulated in polysaccharide microgel preparations to provide sustained release of enzymes with much enhanced bioavailability and pharmacokinetics. Success of the program will provide a valuable medical countermeasure tool for enhanced OP prophylaxis or sustained treatment of OP intoxication. The final product could be an important addition to the Strategic National Stockpile. This proposed technology enhances the nation's preparedness against OP warfare agents and thus is of great interest to the public health. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Project Narrative Counteracting the threat of intoxication by organophosphorus nerve agents (OP) is an important mission for homeland security as well as for treating workers exposed to pesticides. Currently, the most promising strategy to counter OP intoxication is toscavenge the agents using recombinant butyrylcholinesterase; however its pharmacokinetics and bioavailability limit the practical applications for effective prophylaxis or sustained treatment o OP intoxication. This project proposes the development of sustained release bioscavenger formulations as enhanced medical countermeasures against OP warfare agents."
Nanoparticle scavengers for medical countermeasures against mycotoxin,1R41GM106952-01,HHS,HHS,STTR,2013,1,234880.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,,434-483-4254,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,Zhiguo Zhou,,540-769-8400,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mycotoxin is naturally occurring and is a toxic small molecule produced by fungi. These fungal toxins are representative of a large number of lipophilic agents that pose significant acute and chronic dangers to militarycombatants as potential warfare agents. There are many examples of mycotoxins, some more acutely potent than others. Mycotoxin is classified as hepatotoxins, nephrotoxins, neurotoxins, immunotoxins, and carcinogens. Mycotoxin could also be a threat to thepublic health due to food, water or air contamination. Currently, there are no treatments for mycotoxin exposure in either the acute or chronic setting, and the lack of an effective therapeutic could be catastrophic. In order to protec the safety and health of military personnel and civilians, there is a need to develop a therapeutic and prophylactic drug, which can effectively reduce concentrations below its toxic level and minimize the incidence of clinical toxicity. Luna proposes to develop nanoparticle scavengers that can efficiently sequester the lipophilic mycotoxins in vivo and facilitate their clearance. Ths nanotechnology-based approach offers the potential to treat people under suspicion of actual or potential mycotoxin poisoning. Phase I effortswill focus on demonstrating proof-of-concept in vivo efficacy at attenuating mycotoxin-induced acute toxicities, and demonstrating the safe use of Luna's nanoparticles in one rodent species. Phase II efforts will focus on IND-enabling preclinical studies.Success of the program will provide a valuable medical countermeasure tool against mycotoxins, and it may also find clinical applications for other lipophilic toxins or for overdosed drug toxicities. The nanoparticle antidotes could be important for the Strategic National Stockpile in preparing for an emergency involving bioterrorism. Thus, this proposed technology is of great interest to the public health, and also enhances the nation's preparedness against potential mycotoxin attacks. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Mycotoxin is naturally occurring and is a toxic small molecule produced by organisms of the fungus kingdom, and it is representative of a large number of lipophilic molecular agents that pose significant acute and chronic dangers to military combatants as potential biochemical warfare agents. There are no current treatments for exposure to such agents, and in a potential event of mycotoxin attack, the lack of an effective therapeutic could be catastrophic. This project proposes the development scavenging nanoparticle based medical countermeasures that are capable of efficiently sequestering lipophilic mycotoxins, and facilitating their excretion in vivo resulting in reduced toxicities."
Nanoparticle scavengers for medical countermeasures against mycotoxin,1R43DA035765-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,128404.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,,434-483-4254,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,Zhiguo Zhou,,540-769-8400,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Drug toxicity due to either overdose or abusive use represents a major healthcare problem. According to the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System data pharmaceuticals are implicated in 42% of all poisoning cases with gt123,000 annual cases caused by therapeutic errors. The National Center for Health Statistics report that 22,000 people died of drug overdose in the U.S. in 2005 alone, and the number is growing rapidly. General rescue therapies such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intravenous catecholamines to support homeostasis are used to treat drug intoxications in emergency room. These supportive therapies work to some extent; but there is a clearly unmet need for alternative emergency medicine that can effectively andrapidly lower the toxic concentrations of overdosed drugs. In particular, accidental overdose of bupivacaine, a local anesthetic has been reported to cause many cases of cardiac arrest and death. Intralipid is the only therapeutic scavenger with demonstrated clinical success in attenuating toxicities induced by overdosed lipophilic drugs. However improvements are needed to enhance the sequestration efficiency, reduce the dosing volume, and shorten the treatment period. Luna proposes to develop core-shell therapeutic nanoparticles that are capable of extracting lipophilic molecules from body fluids to its lipophili core, and thus overdosed drug is sequestered and its effective concentration is lowered. We hypothesized that the significantly enhanced surface area to volume ratio of Luna's nanoparticles relative to Intralipid will dramatically improve the sequestration efficiency, so tha drug toxicities can be ameliorated more effectively and rapidly. Luna's nanoparticle scavenger has the potential for a successful clinical translation as an antidote to overdosed drugs. Success of such a therapeutic product would be a valuable addition to the existing clinical armamentarium in emergency room. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Drug toxicity due to either overdose or abusive use represents a major healthcare problem and there is a clearly unmet need for alternative emergency medicine that can effectively and rapidly lower the toxic concentrations of overdosed drugs. This project proposes the development of therapeutic nanoparticles that are capable of efficiently sequestering overdosed drugs, and lowering their toxic concentrations in vivo resulting in reduced toxicities. Success of such a therapeutic product would be a valuable addition tothe existing clinical armamentarium in emergency room."
Low-Cost Sprayable Barrier for the Prevention of Surgical Adhesions,1R43GM105142-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,189998.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,,434-483-4254,submissions305@lunainnovations.com,Patrick S. Cottler,,434-972-9952,submissions305@lunainnovations.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Adhesion formation after intra-abdominal surgery poses a significant health risk, cited as a leading cause of small bowel obstruction and female infertility. Methods to prevent these adhesions are currently limited to barrier films which are difficult to place and are often restricted to use at the surgical incision site, leaving the bulk f the abdominal contents unprotected. To address this need, Luna Innovations proposes the development of a low-cost, sprayable barrierthat will flow around and adhere to the internal tissues of the abdominal cavity, providing protection from adhesions for all internal surfaces during healing. Because of the nature of the components of this product, the proposed material will be biocompatible and biodegradable as it provides more complete protection than is available from currently marketed products. This program will focus on the refinement of the material components and delivery system to create the barrier formulations. Prototype formulations will undergo a series of in vitro characterization tests to assess their ability to effectively serve as a barrier to adhesion formation. The efficacy of the most promising formulations will be assessed in vivo. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Luna Innovations will develop a low-cost, more effective alternative to current approaches for the prevention of postoperative adhesions distal to the incision after open abdominal surgery. The material will provide a low- cost andsprayable approach to prevent adhesions, which account for over 960,000 hospital care days and more than 2.3 billion in inpatient expenditures per year the product also has the potential to be adapted for use in a number of other biomedical applications including drug delivery and wound healing."
Improved Metallofullerene MRI Contrast Agent for Cancer Diagnosis,2U44CA176664-02,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,1479896.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Maggie Hudson,,434-483-4254,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,Zhiguo Zhou,,540-769-8400,submissions307@lunainnovations.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women with about 200,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths each year in the United States. Novel approaches for the detection of primary and metastatic breast cancers are urgently needed to increase the survival of patients. Current imaging techniques are limited in accuracy of diagnosis and staging of malignancy. Accuracy in current CT, PET, MRI and ultrasound diagnosis can be as low as 50% and a significant portion of patients are either misdiagnosed or under staged. MRI can provide both morphological and anatomical information with high spatial resolution and large penetration depth, thus a promising imaging modality for preoperative staging of breast cancer and monitoring tumor response to treatment. MRI is non-invasive and better than CT that uses x-ray radiation and nuclear imaging that uses radiolabeled agents. MRI-based cancer diagnosis without exposure to ionizing radiation will be of great interest to clinical cancer care andpublic health. However improvements in MR imaging specificity and sensitivity are needed to improve clarity and diagnostic accuracy. In this project we propose the development of a cancer biomarker-targeting metallofullerene contrast agent with very high molecular relaxivity. Metallofullerene has been demonstrated to be a better T1-weighted imaging agent than gadolinium- based chelates in a number of preclinical studies. The proposed cancer imaging agent incorporates Luna's promising Hydrochalarone contrastagent and angiogenic targeting molecules in one polymeric nanoparticle. Our goal is to develop an improved contrast agent for use with MRI in patients with malignant disease. It may be used to improve accuracy and staging of cancer malignancy, and to eliminate false positives and false negatives. The proposed preclinical study is designed to demonstrate the technical and commercial merits of this nanotechnology-enabled cancer diagnosis. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: NarrativeBreast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths of women, and it is estimated that early 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Novel approaches for the detection of primary and metastatic breast cancers are urgentlyneeded to increase the survival of patients and provide better tools to monitor tumor response to treatment. This project proposes to develop an improved magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent with high sensitivity and specificity for image-based diagnosis of breast cancer malignancy."
Collection and Transport System for Increased Biospecimen Stability and Recovery,200-2013-M-57241,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,149996.00,Luna Innovations Incorporated,1 Riverside Circle,Suite 400,Roanoke,VA,-,No,No,No,Genesika Carter,,,,Blaine Butler,,(434) 220-2509,butlerb@lunainc.com,"The emergence of new infectious diseases and the resurgence of previously controlled diseases are creating unprecedented public health challenges, threatening both global health and national security. The ability to rapidly detect and identify these infectious organisms is critical for the accurate diagnosis of seasonal/sporadic outbreaks, emerging pathogens and bioterrorism agents. Accurate detection is dependent on sample type, collection time (after symptom onset), and specimen transport/storage. With the increased frequency of transport delays due to cost containment measures, consolidations, and shifting of services to centralized laboratories, the ability to preserve sample viability during transport has become paramount to ensuring sample integrity. Current methods utilize transport microbe-specific mediums and may still have cold temperature requirements. In this Phase I, Luna Inc. will leverage its novel stabilization technology to develop an encapsulation matrix to improve biological sample preservation with increased biological sample viability. Luna will team with Dr. Sam Hudson, NC State, to develop degradable/dissolvable biopolymer specimen collection fibers. The combination of Luna's encapsulation matrix with the degradable fibers of these materials will result in a novel biospecimen collection/preservation system with significant improvements in storage stability, and quantitative recovery of biological pathogens, increasing detection capabilities and eliminating the need for cold chain transport."
Laser Sources for Methane and Ozone Sensing for Earth Observation Science,NNX13CL04C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,699549.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Tracy Perinis,Business Official,7034717671,tperinis@fibertek.com,Timothy Shuman,Principal Investigator,7034717671,tshuman@fibertek.com,"This Phase II program will build and deliver a tunable single-frequency laser operating in the 1.645 micron region on optimum CH4 absorption line features. Under this program an all-solid-state parametric-converted laser will be delivered to NASA LaRC which will be suitable for acquiring range-resolved and column CH4 measurements, and compatible with integration into an airborne methane DIAL system under future programs. Due to its relative insensitivity to aerosol and cloud interferences, a DIAL system based on this pulsed laser source will be ideal for NASA investigating high-latitude CH4 releases over polar ice sheets, permafrost regions, wetlands and over open ocean during night and day. In addition the methane lidar system has commercial applications in detection of fossil fuel leaks. This development advances the laser system TRL from 3 to 5. The proposed laser is designed to be compatible with manned or UAV platforms and traceable to space=based instruments."
Solid State Transmitters for Water Vapor and Ozone DIAL Systems,NNX13CL08C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,199873.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Tracy Perinis,Business Official,7034717671,tperinis@fibertek.com,Ti Chuang,Sr. Program Manager,7034717671,tchuang@fibertek.com,"We have developed a common architecture for laser transmitters that address requirements for water vapor as well as ground and airborne ozone lidar systems. Our innovative approach to these requirements has the advantages of reducing size, weight and power (SWaP) as well as hardware cost for all of the applications envisioned. Under this Phase I SBIR program Fibertek proposes to demonstrate operation of laser systems at wavelengths required for both water vapor and ozone DIAL systems and power scaling to desired levels. In the Phase II follow-on, Fibertek will build and deliver laser transmitters and frequency converters designed to meet NASA requirements for both water vapor and ozone lidar systems. The use common technology for the two DIAL applications provides NASA a lower cost and risk path to development of next-generation DIAL systems sought under this select SBIR opportunity."
Fiber MOPA for Ascends,NNX13CL41P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124988.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Larry Johns,Business Official,7034717671,ljohns@fibertek.com,Wei Lu,Engineer III,7034717671,wlu@fibertek.com,"CO2 sensing using absorption bands near 1570nm is very attractive by taking advantage of the mature fiber-amplifier technology derived from fiber-optic telecom heritage. This necessitates sufficient power scaling in 1.5 micrometer fiber-amplifiers, either in the pulsed-mode, or in the cw-mode for modulation spectroscopy.In this SBIR program we propose the design, optimization, experimental evaluation and prototype development of a high-power,high wall-plug efficiency, 1571.1 nm fiber-amplifier laser transmitter, compatible with multi-line cw intensity-modulated integrated-path differential absorption spectroscopy, with the size, weight and power (SWaP) optimized for airborne and eventual space-qualifiable roadmap for ASCENDS mission. We leverage innovations in high-power 1.5 micrometer fiber-optic technology and fiber-amplifier architecture, while using high-reliability 1.5 micrometer silica-fiber based passive/active components. Our expectation is that at the end of Phase 2, a TRL-6 level hardware can be developed and delivered for an airborne mission, and which is also compatible with a space-flight maturation roadmap."
Downlink Fiber Laser Transmitter for Deep Space Communication,NNX13CP04C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,947459.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Larry Johns,Business Official,7034717671,ljohns@fibertek.com,Doruk Engin,Principal Investigator,7034717671,dengin@fibertek.com,"NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) roadmap, calls for an integrated network approach to communication and navigation needs for robotic and human space exploration missions, from near-Earth to planetary missions. Anytime, anywhere connectivity for Earth, Moon and Mars is a stated goal, with high-bandwidth optical relay crosslinks for Earth, Moon, Mars and planets. Laser based optical communication links for space provides more than an order of magnitude higher data rates than corresponding RF links.. In addition, this is achieved with much smaller size, weight & power (SWaP) burden to spacecraft payloads, making spacecraft resources available to enhance or extend science missions, and the overall mission productivity. Tremendous progress made in 1.5um & 1-um fiber-optic fiber laser/amplifier technologies, their power scaling, and availability of reliable high-power components, makes such transmitters feasible for space mission application. In this SBIR proposal, we propose to develop 1.5mm fiber-amplifier based laser transmitters, with Pavg>4W, and compatible with a variety of M-ary PPM formats, that have a clear path to a space-qualification roadmap. In addition, power-scaling to 10W, athermal operation over a wide temperature range (with passive conductive cooling only), and improved power efficiency, are simultaneously addressed. Limited scope qualification tests relevant for space environment will also be conducted. These activities leverage prior and ongoing related activities at Fibertek, on high-performance, high-reliability fiber laser transmitters."
Non-Mechanically Steered 3D Imaging LADAR,FA8650-13-M-1641,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149919.00,"Fibertek, Inc.",VA,,Herndon,VA,20171-4603,No,No,No,Larry Johns,Contracts Manager,(703) 471-7671,ljohns@fibertek.com,Shantanu Gupta,"Director, Advanced Tech. Programs",(703) 471-7671,sgupta@fibertek.com,"ABSTRACT: We propose high-speed liquid crystal based beams-steering for 3D ladar systems using photon-counting arrays. Our proposed design takes into account tactical targeting requirements, and is compatible with integration into current generation of targeting pods. BENEFIT: (1) 3D ladar imaging (2) Improved combat ID (3) Multi target laser designation (4) Ladar beam-steering"
Silicon Carbide Quasi-Bipolar Junction Transistor (QBJT)-Based boost converter platform for up-tower wind applications,DE-FG02-13ER90714,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,GeneSiC Semiconductor Inc.,"43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 155",,Dulles,VA,20166-2123,No,Yes,No,Ranbir Singh,Dr.,7039968200,ranbir.singh@genesicsemi.com,Siddarth Sundaresan,Dr.,7039968200,siddarth.sundaresan@genesicsemi.com,"SiC power electronics are ideally suited for reducing the size and weight of power electronics systems that are used in wind power converters. Present power electronics systems require large transformers which operate a modest frequencies that prevents their use on top of the turbine tower. The electrical parasitics introduced by the interconnections between wind turbine and power conversion electronics limits the efficiency and usability of power electronics. Direct grid connection of the wind turbine is not possible due to these limitations. Leveraging a strong expertise in & gt; 10 kV capable SiC power Quasi-Bipolar Junction Transistor (QBJT) device designs and ultra-high frequency power conversion enabled by SiC SJTs, this proposed SBIR program will demonstrate an unprecedented compactness and efficiencies in wind power conversion circuits by leveraging SiC QBJT and Super Junction Transistor (SJT) for up-tower wind energy applications. This topology makes use of the newly developed 1200 V, 50 A SiC SJT and 13 kV, 10 A SiC QBJT for this application. The 690 V, 3- phase output of the wind turbine converter system is interfaced with the 13.8 kV, 60 Hz, 3-phase medium voltage distribution grid using this topology. The use of SiC based SJT devices will result in very small loss (high efficiency) for the overall power conversion system. The proposed power conversion system is for 1 MVA system but can be easily scaled up to 3.5 MW (typical large wind turbine ratings). This research will usher a new generation of high-voltage SiC circuits, which will find widespread application in utility-scale power conversion, rail traction and medical equipment. Successful implementation of the proposed technology will dramatically improve the performance and reliability of power electronics in renewable energy applications and Smart Grid elements. This in turn will increase market acceptance of these high-end products and thereby drive jobs creation in the US."
1200 V/50 A AlGaN-GaN-Si MOS-HFETs and Schottky Rectifiers,DE-FG02-13ER86545,DOE,DOE,STTR,2013,1,150000.00,GeneSiC Semiconductor Inc.,"43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 155",,Dulles,VA,20166-2123,No,Yes,No,Ranbir Singh,Dr.,7039968200,ranbir.singh@genesicsemi.com,Siddarth Sundaresan,Dr.,7039968200,siddarth.sundaresan@genesicsemi.com,"DoEs recent emphasis on increasing fuel economy requires electrification of the vehicle powertrain, thus leading to extended range electric vehicles (EREVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). All electric propulsion systems require high current, high-voltage (600 V-1200 V), low-loss power semiconductor switches. Present electric vehicle systems rely exclusively on silicon-based power management, which is stymied by the limitations of the Si semiconductor platform, including high switching losses, modest operation capability ( & lt;125 C), and large module footprint, especially at 1200 V ratings. The GaN-on-Si platform offers the greatest potential for overcoming these limitations, yet a power device technology that fully exploits the superior performance advantages of the GaN-Si platform has not been developed. Through a combination of novel epitaxial growth, ingenious, yet robust device designs and process technology, the GeneSiC-Cornell team proposes 1200 V/50 A-class AlGaN/GaN-Si MOS-HFETs, designed to fully exploit the theoretical 100x and 10x performance advantages of the GaN-Si platform over Si and SiC, respectively. Phase I of this proposed work will focus on the optimization of the device designs and process technology of 1200 V/50 A AlGaN/GaN-Si MOS-HFETs with threshold voltage & gt; 2 V, low Gate and Drain leakage of & lt; 1 A/mm at 1000 V, low output capacitance & lt; 5 pF/mm and low AC/DC dynamic on-resistance ratio & lt;1.5. The novel GaN-Si power devices to be developed during this program will push the envelope in terms of operating temperature, frequency and circuit efficiencies of power electronics used in a host of applications. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: This research will usher a new generation of high-voltage GaN-on-Si power integrated circuits, which will find widespread application in utility-scale power conversion. Successful implementation of the proposed technology will dramatically improve the performance and reliability of power electronics in electric vehicles, power supplies, and renewable energy applications. This in turn will increase market acceptance of these high-end products and thereby drive jobs creation in the US."
500C/3.8 kW-class Resonant-Mode Power Converter featuring SiC Super Junction Transistors,NNX13CC12C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,199766.00,GeneSiC Semiconductor Inc.,"43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 155",,Dulles,VA,20166-2123,No,Yes,No,Ranbir Singh,Dr,7039968200,ranbir.singh@genesicsemi.com,Siddarth Sundaresan,Dr,7039968200,siddarth.sundaresan@genesicsemi.com,"Capitalizing on a potent confluence of expertise in III-Nitride epitaxy, GaN-Si power device designs, and wide-bandgap power electronics, researchers at GeneSiC Semiconductor and Cornell University jointly propose a SBIR program focused on the development of 15 kW/300?C-rated power converters using AlGaN/GaN-Si MOS-HFETs and Schottky rectifiers. The proposed AlGaN/GaN-Si power converters to be developed in this program will usher in a new generation of high-efficiency, low-cost, and radiation-hard power conversion units on-board future NASA spacecraft. Phase I of this proposed work will focus on the optimization of the design and fabrication of the AlGaN/GaN-Si MOS-HFET and NSJ SBR devices. Phase II will be focused on the design and integration of Si/GaN gate-drive circuitry with the power SBRs and transistors to create high-power integrated circuits. Another major objective during Phase II will be the construction of Rad-Hard packaging for the power ICs. At the end of Phase II of this program, a fully-functional 15 kW/300?C rated power converter IC equipped with AlGaN/GaN-on-Si MOS-HFETs, Natural SuperJunction (NSJ) SBRs as free-wheeling diodes and on-chip SiC or III-Nitride gate drive circuitry will be demonstrated at a switching frequency of?1 MHz and at a temperature of?300?C. As compared to the existing state-of-the-art power electronics technology, the proposed AlGaN/GaN-on-Si power converters will offer (A) Lower on-state losses, 300?C operation and 1 MHz switching capability (B) A Lateral device architecture, which is highly desirable for construction for monolithic power integrated circuits (C) Possibility of hybrid interconnection of III-Nitride Power Devices with on-chip Rad-Hard AlGaN/GaN Gate Drive Circuitry (D) Desirable Normally-OFF Power Switches."
Coral Viz,FA8750-13-C-0086,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149961.00,"Global InfoTek, Inc",1920 Association Drive,Suite 200,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Karen Emami,CEO,(703) 652-1600,kemami@globalinfotek.com,Ray Emami,President,(703) 652-1600,gemami@globalinfotek.com,"Global InfoTek, Inc. will research methods for developmental testing of cyber attacks on enterprise applications and services. The research will focus on visualization, analytics and data capture approaches for determining the impact of cyber attacks on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) based services and applications. The resulting research will create prototype tools that can assist development teams in identifying security vulnerabilities, performance inhibitors and robustness of services that would be deployed in conjunction with a SOA framework. The initial challenges will address how to create a flexible visualization platform that can show the impact of a cyber attack on multiple layers of the Opens System Interconnection (OSI) stack from hardware performance to network topologies to security services to data services. This visualization will be accompanied by an analytical engine that can make meaning of the data captures from enterprise sensors and provide it to developers in a manner that is meaningful and useful. These tools will be specifically designed to adapt to the rapid addition and subtraction of SOA services and to provide repeatable tests that developers can use to test, debug and validate service and application performance."
"10MHz, 10k-Pixel Fast Fiber-Coupled Imaging Devices for Plasma Diagnostics",DE-FG02-13ER90523,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,Hyperv Technologies Corporation,13935 Willard Road,,Chantilly,VA,20151-2936,No,No,No,Franklin D. Witherspoon,Dr.,,witherspoon@hyperv.com,Samuel Brockington,Dr.,7033784882,sbrock@hyperv.com,"High speed imaging of plasmas is limited to relatively short record lengths and is very expensive. Portions of the tradeoff space where slightly reduced spatial resolution allows gains in record length and reduced costs are poorly explored. HyperV Technologies Corp. proposes to construct a 100 pixel fiber coupled streak camera as a proof of concept towards an eventual goal of constructing a 100x100 pixel fiber coupled framing camera with a speed of 20 MHz or better, and a record length in excess of 2500 frames. This will allow 2500 frame movies of fast, bright plasma events to be recorded in a single shot. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The primary commercial application is in sales or rental of the device to researchers performing experiments in which long record length at high speed is needed and a 10k pixel resolution is acceptable. This includes magnetic fusion devices such as tokamaks, as well as plasma propulsion, and basic plasma physics research. However other low-shot-count, fast, bright events could be recorded as well, such as in applications in ballistics and explosives."
Geographically-Aware and Targeted Secure Information Dissemination (GATSID),FA8750-13-C-0210,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,148206.00,IMAGE MATTERS,201 Loudoun Street SW,,Leesburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Janne Hussey,COO,(703) 669-5510,Janineh@imagemattersllc.com,Patrick Neal,Senior Software Developer,(703) 669-5510,Patrickn@imagemattersllc.com,"ABSTRACT: The ability of warfighters on-the-move to securely send/receive communications using mobile devices is essential to the safety of the warfighter and successful execution of mission objectives. Personnel on-the-move present challenges to the communications infrastructure of any organization. Providing the right actionable information to the right persons, at the right times, and right locations, in a mobile context, requires context-sensitive services that can respond to changing battlefield conditions. These services must be capable of determining on-the-fly what is needed tactically, strategically, geographically, and temporally, in austere, secure communications environments. Existing systems fail to limit delivery using geospatial and other mission factors, resulting in spurious, superfluous message and alert delivery, and bandwidth congestion. What is needed is a system that not only constrains message delivery by geographic location, but also is also capable of processing other context-sensitive factors affecting the mission. The objective of this research is to determine the feasibility and readiness of an operational, commercially-viable Geographically-Aware and Targeted Secure Information Dissemination (GATSID) system. This research will investigate the challenges and enabling technology required to design and build a prototype GATSID system that securely transmits messages to a class of receivers determined by geographical, temporal, tactical, strategic and social constraints. BENEFIT: The completion of this project will result in the creation of a secure alert dispatch system for mobile devices that can be used with confidence in adverse communications and hostile environments, including warfighting, peace-keeping, drug interdiction, border patrol, law enforcement, and intelligence collection. Advanced applications include advanced multi-media content including messages, alerts, reports and multicasts using semantically defined routing and relay that target specific personnel, devices or classes of recipients."
Reduction of Dietary Oxalate,1R43ES022879-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,184266.00,INDOOR BIOTECHNOLOGIES,1216 Harris Street,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22903-,No,No,No,Martin D. Chapman,,434-984-2304,mdc@inbio.com,Martin D. Chapman,,434-984-2304,mdc@inbio.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Asthma is a serious public health problem in the US that affects one in ten schoolchildren and causes ~500,000 hospitalizations each year, with an estimated economic cost of 56 billion. Allergic sensitization to household allergens (dust mites, cat, dog, mouse, cockroach, molds) is a major risk factor for the development of asthma. Asthma in early childhood can also be influenced by exposure to bacterial products which may potentiate or have protective effects dependingon the level of environmental exposure and genetic factors. Recent studies in a mouse model have shown that the bacterial protein, flagellin, promotes allergic sensitization to indoor allergens and that human patients with asthma have high levels of antibodies to flagellin. Household dust samples have been shown to contain flagellin. However, investigation of the association between exposure to flagellin and asthma requires a robust test to measure flagellin in environmental samples from homes and public buildings. The goal of this SBIR Phase I project is to develop a high throughput immunoassay for flagellin, capable of analyzing several hundred samples per week. The specific aims of the project are i) to purify flagellin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa; ii) to develop a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody based immunoassay which detects flagellin from most bacterial species; iii) to validate the assay performance to measure flagellin in dust samples of known allergen and endotoxin content. The strategy involvesdeveloping a multiplexed immunoassay which can be used to measure flagellin, allergens and molds simultaneously. This assay will be to assess the role of flagellin exposure in allergic disease. Commercial potential: Successful completion of this SBIR willresult in valuable immunoassay product(s) that can be marketed by the applicant, Indoor Biotechnologies, to allergy/immunology researchers in academia, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers, worldwide. The research couldgenerate several product lines that are complementary to the company's current products and which will enable the company to expand its product range in new markets. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Exposure to bacterial productsin early childhood can affect the development of asthma. Recent animal studies associate exposure to bacterial flagellin with enhancement of allergic responses. A high throughput immunoassay for flagellin will be developed to measure environmental exposure to flagellin in US homes and public places. This will allow the role of flagellin as a biomarker for allergic responses to be investigated and resul in development of commercial assay kits and services for allergy/immunology and infectious diseases."
Tool Output Integration Framework (TOIF) Upgrade for Hybrid Analysis Mapping,HSHQDC-13-C-00045,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2013,1,99641.93,"Data Access Technologies, Inc","12209 Kyler Ln., Suite 104",,Herndon,VA,20171-1624,No,No,No,Cory B. Casanave,,,cory-c@modeldriven.com,Cory Casanave,,,cory-c@modeldriven.com,"Building on the prior standards based work for the Tool Output Integration Framework (TOIF) and KDM - ISO/IEC 19506, this project will bring
together dynamic and static analysis test results from multiple tools into a single solution that will provide a unified platform for security testing and
application risk management. Software fault patterns (SFP) and Common Weakness Enumerations (CWE) will be leveraged to integrate information
that typically resides in separate point products. The proposed solution will allow for detailed analysis and more precise results including correlation of
results from dynamic and static assessments. The resulting integrated vulnerability reports provide more information about the discovered
vulnerabilities, including actionable system-level information that links proof-of-exploit with line-of-code details and recommendations for mitigating
them.
A key element of this research is leveraging the past success of TOIF and the proven ability to combine and leverage the results of multiple tools. The initial TOIF work focused on static analysis, this work extends that to dynamic and penetration tools. More than combining data, the results from
multiple tools is semantically integrated using KDM systems knowledge, formalized SFPs and CWEs into the TOIF knowledge base. Encompassing
both static and dynamic analysis in a single knowledge framework encompassing overall systems knowledge provides a unique and formally
unavailable capability."
Radiation resistant magnetic field sensor,DE-FG02-13ER90535,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,149272.00,"MicroXact, Inc.",295 Industrial Drive,,Christiansburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Paul Hines,Mr.,,phines@microxact.com,Vladimir Kochergin,Dr.,5403944040,vkochergin@microxact.com,"All high power target facilities and accelerators, especially the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), require magnetic field sensors to measure magnetic fields in various magnets employed at these facilities as well as in cyclotrons. The currently used and/or commercially available sensors show only limited radiation resistance and in general require replacement every 3-4 months, resulting in, on average, two days per year of lost facility operation. Since a similar problem persists with other domestic and international accelerator facilities, the solution of such a problem will result in significant savings to both the scientific community and taxpayers. MicroXact, Inc. is proposing to develop a new type of fiber optic magnetic field sensor and instrumentation that will be small, sensitive, inexpensive and radiation resistant. Proposed sensors and instrumentation will work for years without the need for frequent replacement and/or recalibration. In Phase I MicroXact will experimentally verify the feasibility of the proposed approach by fabricating 1st generation sensor prototype, assembling bread-board interrogation instrumentation and testing the sensor material in relevant environment. In Phase II MicroXact will develop and test stand-alone sensors and instruments. At the end of Phase II one set of interrogation instrument and calibrated sensor will be delivered to FRIB for actual use. After completion of Phase II, MicroXact will commercialize the developed technology. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The proposed solution is expected to meet or exceed all the requirements of FRIB and other facilities for radiation resistant magnetic field sensing. The proposed sensors are expected to function for years without the need for replacement or recalibration, thus saving US taxpayers and the scientific community significant sums (many $millions annually if counting all US accelerator and tokamak facilities) currently spent on magnetic field sensor replacements. Sensors and instruments developed on this program are expected to find multiple applications in magnetic field sensing for accelerator facilities, fusion reactors (ITER, etc.), as well as NMR and MRI instruments where zero RF emission of such sensors is highly beneficial."
Real time PV Manufacturing Diagnostic System,DE-FG02-12ER90432,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,2,999082.00,"MicroXact, Inc.",295 Industrial Drive,,Christiansburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Elena Kochergina,Mrs.,5403944040,ekochergina@microxact.com,Vladimir Kochergin,Dr.,5403944040,vkochergin@microxact.com,"The main obstacle Photovoltaic (PV) industry is facing at present is the higher cost of PV energy compared to that of fossil energy. While solar cell efficiencies continue to make incremental gains these improvements are so far insufficient to drive PV costs down to match that of fossil energy. Improved in-line diagnostics however, has the potential to significantly increase the productivity and reduce cost by improving the yield of the process, as proven by industry leaders. MicroXact proposes to develop a high-throughput in-line PV manufacturing diagnostic system, which will provide fast and accurate data on the spatial uniformity of thickness and refractive indices of the thin films comprising the solar cell as the solar cell is processed reel-to- reel. The retrieved information will provide the opportunity to detect a wide variety of processing errors, including but not limited to thickness/composition inhomogeneity in any layer comprising PV device, non-uniform scribing, cracking and layer separation. During the Phase I, MicroXact designed and assembled breadboard system prototype and unambiguously experimentally verified that the proposed solution meets all the expected specifications in terms of resolution, accuracy and throughput, and demonstrated defect detection on actual CIGS solar cell samples. An advanced design of the portable system adapted to PVMC pilot CIGS PV manufacturing line was conceived and Phase II validation testing plans were developed/budgeted. In Phase II, MicroXact will complete the design, develop and test the portable PV manufacturing diagnostics system for the 0.6m wide CIGS manufacturing line and will validate its performance initially in-house on solar cell samples from the same manufacturing line, and then will perform demonstration of PV manufacturing diagnostics on PVMC pilot manufacturing line. The demonstration of a high-throughput in-line PV manufacturing diagnostic system at PVMC pilot line will lead to the rapid and successful commercialization of the technology in Phase III. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The target application for the proposed in-line manufacturing diagnostic system is the PV cell manufacturing lines with high production capacity ( & gt;10MW/year), in which the benefits of the in-line diagnostics (such as yield improvement and cost reduction) are expected to outweigh the cost of system installation immediately. In addition, low-cost system modifications will be developed to target off-line quality assurance and quality control at smaller-scale PV cell manufacturing lines."
An Integration Platform for Dual-Polarized W-Band Antenna Arrays,NNX13CP05C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,698589.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Executive Vice President,8003412333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Kenneth Vanhille,Principal Investigator,8003412333,kvanhille@nuvotronics.com,"A few NASA decadal missions such as the Aerosol Clouds Ecosystems (ACE) mission require space-based millimeter-wave radar apertures to complete the science objectives. We propose to create dual-polarized microfabricated copper-based antenna apertures with integrated MMICs that go beyond the capabilities funded to date at the upper frequencies of interest by enabling electronic scanning at W-band frequencies, while not precluding the co-location of Ka-band capability in the same aperture. This Phase II effort will constitute element-, feed-, MMIC-, and array-level analyses of the trade space for the proposed aperture. In addition we will provide a hardware demonstration of a W-band transmit/receive array tile showing MMIC integration on the necessary scale for W-band phased arrays and high-efficiency dual polarized antenna elements."
Low Cost/High Performance TR Module Packaging Technologies,N00024-13-P-4568,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79992.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Executive Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Jim MacDonald,Member Technical Staff,(800) 341-2333,jmacdonald@nuvotronics.com,"Nuvotronics proposes to develop low-cost/high performance module technology for application in next generation TR modules. A near-hermetic approach using a four-step sealing approach is used, along with additional cost-savings realized in module interconnects and use of COTS components. A goal of 50% cost savings over today""s module is proposed. Phase I will provide environmental testing of a high-power test article that demonstrates key aspects of our approach."
Broadband PolyStrata Source,N00024-13-P-4039,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79857.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Executive Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Jean-Marc Rollin,Member Technical Staff,(800) 341-2333,jmrollin@nuvotronics.com,"Nuvotronics is proposing for this Navy SBIR number N131-059 to develop the key elements to enable broadband sources (1110 GHz) toward future electronic warfare (EW), communications and radar systems. RF passive components based on waveguide are very low loss but are limited in bandwidth. Components based on substrate material such as ceramic or printed circuit board can provide a broader band of operation but exhibit high loss especially at high frequencies. . To provide RF components with low loss and wide-bandwidth of operation, Nuvotronics is proposing to design new RF passives based on our proven PolyStrata integrated transmission line technology. PolyStrata offers unprecedented performance in propagation loss, wide band operation and linearity, enabling the next generation of low loss passives components. For this proposal, Nuvotronics is offering in this phase I to design an ultra-low loss architecture, which will integrate the different micro-filters, active and passive components needed on a single common PolyStrata monolithic backplane to deliver a 1-110 GHz wide band source."
PolyStrata based Fragmented Array Antenna for Next Generation Ka-band Phased Arrays,FA9453-13-M-0174,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149873.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Executive Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Hooman Kazemi,VP of Technology,(800) 341-2333,hkazemi@nuvotronics.com,"ABSTRACT: Our approach is to enable the proven fragmented antenna design from GTRI at Ka-band frequency range through the highly dimension controlled and low loss PolyStrata process at Nuvotronics. This will provide frequency scalability, connectivity to phased array electronics through the microcoax PolyStrata transmission lines and ultra-compactness and conformity to a predesigned shape. This is in addition to already proven fragmented antenna design advantages proven by GTRI at a lower frequency range. BENEFIT: An advanced PolyStrata based fragmented array antenna will be enabled for the next generation Ka-band phased arrays providing higher bandwidth, dual polarization, larger scan volumes at substantially lower CSWAP. Our approach focuses on the architecture design and development of the module array in which is can be arrayed to build conformal larger scale antennas with the integrated RF electronics."
Antenna Design in PolyStrata for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,FA8650-13-M-1669,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149319.00,"Nuvotronics, LLC",VA,,Radford,VA,24141-8846,Yes,No,Yes,Scott Meller,Executive Vice President,(800) 341-2333,contracts@nuvotronics.com,Anatoliy Boryssenko,Member Technical Staff,(800) 341-2333,aboryssenko@nuvotronics.com,"ABSTRACT: The Nuvotronics approach is to create a modular array architecture made of batch fabricated micromachined electronically-scanned subarray planar aperture modules. A number of such subarray modules are then combined to form a flat or conformal array antenna aperture providing necessary antenna system to operate in the WGS uplink (20.2-21.2 GHz) and uplink (30-31 GHz) bands with corresponding circular polarization (CP) states. It is assumed to operate both uplink and downlink through the same shared aperture running in dual-band mode, while splitting both channels in the array backplane. The design modularity will make possible to install the array on a UAV while fitting different installation conditions along with other possible options for the Predator class and other types of AF and other DoD UAV platforms. The batch fabricated micromachined electronically-scanned subarray planar aperture modules, which will be used to form necessary high-gain flat or conformal apertures, will be fabricated using the PolyStrata fabrication process developed by Nuvotronics. The array backplane will provide all signal, control and power connections to the subarray modules. BENEFIT: WGS uplink (20.2-21.2 GHz) and uplink (30-31 GHz) for UAVs will be provided through a single dual-band aperture. Minimized size and weight will be achieved with benefits to payload to maximize UAV mission capabilities. Initially will be designed for the Predator class UAV and other types of AF and other DoD UAV platforms will be considered also."
Automatic Test and Analysis (ATA) Tool,HQ0147-13-C-7616,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,979723.00,Innovative Defense Technologies,4401 Wilson Boulevard,Suite 810,Arlington,VA,22203-,No,No,No,Teddy Kidd,Contracts Administrator,(703) 522-4032,tkidd@idtus.com,Dave Ponticello,Principal Engineer,(609) 864-0020,dponticello@idtus.com,"IDT""s existing Automated Test and Re-Test (ATRT) software tool suite is a disruptive technology used to apply automation to the integration and test of large complex defense systems. ATRT is designed to support requirements analysis, performance analysis, Certification and at-sea operational testing. The ATRT tool suite has two major components: Test Manager and Analysis Manager. The Test Manager automates test execution, and the Analysis Manager automates test data analysis. ATRT development is driven by a SysML Model Based System Design approach which, through our established modeling methodology and Rhapsody tool suite, allows for rapid development of system Test Flows (series of steps to execute a test) and Analysis Use Cases (system behaviors mapped to requirements). ATRT has demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce test execution and analysis cost and timelines while improving the quality of system testing through repeatability, advanced data mining, increased requirements coverage, and increased depth of analysis. The use of ATRT has demonstrated test efficiency improvements of greater than 70%. The primary objective of IDT""s ATA Phase II proposed effort is to extend proven Aegis BMD ATRT technology and demonstrated test efficiency improvements to other BMDS element and Multi-Element Integration and Test (MEIT) interoperability testing."
Modeling and Simulation Technologies Development for Combat System Integration and Certification,N00024-13-C-4077,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,590933.00,Innovative Defense Technologies,4401 Wilson Boulevard,Suite 810,Arlington,VA,22203-,No,No,No,Teddy Kidd,Contracts Administrator,(703) 522-4032,tkidd@idtus.com,Bernie Gauf,Principal Engineer,(703) 807-0055,bgauf@idtus.com,"The Phase I effort against TOPIC Number N111-037,""Modeling and Simulation Technologies Development for Combat System Integration and Certification"", provided a demonstration of modeled capability between SQQ89 and AWS. Modeled behaviors for the demonstrated interface were accomplished, and analysis of requirements and the interface IDS were achieved. Phase II builds on the foundations established above and those provided in the Phase 1 Final Report. The effort delivers a simulation framework composed of reusable software services plug-ins and is built on a foundation that provides a modular development approach across various platforms and languages. Significant components that will contribute to the framework will be developed to manage large amounts of data/information through defined APIs, models and communication processing. This effort includes developing required use cases for the targeted interface and their associated automated simulation models. This Phase II effort moves Test & Evaluation away from send & forget SIM/STIM approach."
Organic&Hybrid Organic/Inorganic-Based Graded-Index/Layered Optical Coatings by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD),FA8650-13-C-5002,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,2,749261.00,"INTER MATERIALS, LLC",13339 Olde Stonegate Road,,Midlothian,VA,-,No,No,No,Francisco Folgar,President,(804) 502-7923,ffolgar@comcast.net,Kent Coulter,Principal Investigator,(210) 522-3196,kent.coulter@swri.org,"ABSTRACT: One of the Air Force main interests is to improve the antireflective (AR) optical properties of polycarbonate by exploring new coating materials or coating techniques to eliminate delamination and stress cracks due to the mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the coatings and the polymer substrates. SwRI and INTER Materials are in a unique position to assist the Air Force with the development of an innovative Plasma Ion Immersion Deposition (PIID) coating technology for hybrid organic/inorganic-based thin films as durable adherent non-delaminating optical coatings for polycarbonate because: 1) SwRI and INTER Materials have already demonstrated the feasibility of Plasma Ion Immersion Deposition as a new technology for depositing AR optical coatings; 2) INTER Materials already has its own large 84""diameter x 60""deep vacuum chamber for PIID plasma deposition of AR-hard optical coatings for large-curved polycarbonate components located close to the Virginia Tech University campus; 3) INTER Materials has access to the state-of-the-art laboratory equipment at ICTAS for the characterization of AR coatings and thin films; and 4) INTER Materials has been working closely with Dr. Kent Coulter and Dr. Ronghua Wei at SwRI, recognized world experts in the field of plasma deposition. BENEFIT: Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and INTER Materials propose to design, engineer and build pilot capabilities at our facilities in Radford, Virginia, that will allow us to establish Plasma Ion Immersion Deposition (PIID) as an innovative coating technology to manufacture superior multi-layer graded-index AR-hard optical coatings for polycarbonate. This new plasma deposition technology will enable the fabrication of environmentally durable AR-hard optical coatings for polycarbonate that meets the Air Force specified requirements including R<0.5% and T=99.5%. Our research indicates that an abrasion resistant and optically reflective surface coating can be deposited on a polycarbonate substrate using a technology that SwRI and INTER Materials have been using for improving the abrasion resistance on aircraft windscreens. Because the proposed technology will utilize current aircraft windscreens manufacturing infrastructure, it is predicted to have a good commercial potential and a low investment risk when adopting the new environmentally durable organic/inorganic antireflective (AR) coating technology with controlled thickness, minimal stress, minimal water content and controlled porosity. Should pilot capabilities get established for manufacturing AR-hard optical coatings, SwRI and INTER Materials have already made formal arrangements to work with a well established US supplier of eye protective solutions for aircrew to commercialize this technology."
Space Station Validation of Advanced Radiation-Shielding Polymeric Materials,NNX13CL05C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,699995.00,"International Scientific Technologies, Inc.",P.O. Box 757,,Dublin,VA,24084-0757,No,No,No,Wanda Gibson,Business Official,5406331424,intlsci@earthlink.net,Russell J. Churchill,Principal Investigator,5406331424,intlsci@earthlink.net,"In Subtopic X11.01, NASA has identified the need to develop advanced radiation-shielding materials and systems to protect humans from the hazards of space radiation during NASA missions. The radiation components of interest include protons, alpha particles and heavy ions from galactic cosmic rays, protons and other ions from solar particle events, high energy electrons and neutrons, and high-energy electromagnetic radiation. International Scientific Technologies, Inc., in conjunction with the College of William and Mary, proposes to raise the technology readiness level of selected polymeric radiation-shielding materials through participation in the Materials on the International Space Station Experiment program, named MISSE-X. The Phase I SBIR program demonstrated the feasibility of developing a flight-qualified Technology Demonstration Experiment to be carried on board the ISS as part of a MISSE-X payload to facility Technology Infusion. Phase II Technical Objectives will include specification and fabrication of polymeric materials to shield astronauts and sensitive electronic equipment, acquisition and test of detectors/dosimeters suitable for measurement of total ionizing dose, design, construction, test and optimization of an experimental package compatible with the guidelines and specifications of the MISSE-X program, and field testing and integration in conjunction with NASA personnel and NASA contractors. The anticipated result of the Phase II program is the delivery of an experiment package for MISSE-X."
Polyoxometalate and Zirconium-Phosphate Conversion Coating for Steel Piping,NNX13CS11C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,699997.00,"International Scientific Technologies, Inc.",P.O. Box 757,,Dublin,VA,24084-0757,No,No,No,Wanda Gibson,Business Official,5406331424,intlsci@earthlink.net,Michael D. Harig,Principal Investigator,5406331424,intlsci@earthlink.net,"In Sub-topic O3.04, NASA has identified a need for control of material degradation to extend the life and reduce the life-cycle costs of piping systems subject to microbial influenced corrosion in the presence of untreated or brackish water. The corrosion mechanisms of greatest interest are salt and acid attack due to exposure to brackish and untreated waters. International Scientific Technologies, Inc., in conjunction with Ferrum College, proposes the development of a protective barrier conversion coating to prevent corrosion cell formation in steel substrates."
High Efficiency SIGINT Collection,N68335-13-C-0096,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79987.00,Invertix Corporation,8201 Greensboro Drive,Suite 800,McLean,VA,-,No,No,No,Bryan Judd,"EVP, Chief Financial Offi",(703) 813-2131,bjudd@invertix.com,Brecken Uhl,Principal Investigator,(575) 646-9316,buhl@invertix.com,"Signals intelligence systems use the established Shannon-Nyquist approach of signal acquisition, setting a sampling requirement based on data rate. This sampling approach is generating operationally impractical amounts of data, most of which goes unused or arrives late. The conventional rate of data-to-information (DTI) conversion is low, and there exists high demand for a solution. A new approach to signal sampling achieves efficient DTI conversion. Our approach exploits mathematical sparsity to produce high accuracy information sensing (ISENSE) with reduced sampling rates. This technique employs the relatively new science of compressive sensing (CS) and compressive processing (CP), which extract information with fewer samples compared than when sampling at the Nyquist rate. As an extension to known CS techniques, ISENSE continuously validates sparsity patterns, taking CS from theory to a deployable technology. We apply ISENSE to the intercept, detection, characterization, classification and identification of emitters. We will illustrate, by qualitative and quantitative measures, how the ISENSE capability maintains DTI accuracy and detection probabilities despite reduced sampling rates, thus improving Naval airborne SIGINT data collection, storage, transport, and processing efficiency."
Chalcogenide Infrared Fiber Manufacturing Technology,N00014-13-C-0346,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,2,500000.00,IRFLex Corporation,300 Ringgold Industrial Parkway,,Danville,VA,-,No,No,No,Francois Chenard,President,(434) 483-4304,francois.chenard@irflex.com,Francois Chenard,President,(434) 483-4304,francois.chenard@irflex.com,"Chalcogenide glass fibers are extensively used for delivery of mid-infrared (2-5 micron) laser wavelengths. They are needed for development of next-generation Directed InfraRed CounterMeasure (DIRCM) systems. Replacing the bulky free-space delivery system with fiber will reduce the weight and size of these systems enabling the installation in vehicle and aircraft with stringent weight and size requirements. These fibers have industrial uses, such as remote sensing, environmental monitoring, and spectroscopy. Chalcogenide fibers, however, lose more than 50% transmission beyond ~ 10 m and suffer from low mechanical strength barely passing the 15 kpsi tensile proof test. The main contributors to the loss level and mechanical strength are impurities in the glass, and contaminant exposure and imperfections introduced during fiber draw. Therefore, good fiber transmission over 10 meters and improved mechanical properties require a novel manufacturing process. The feasibility of developing a prototype manufacturing process that is capable of producing chalcogenide glass fibers with low-loss (<0.15 dB/m) and high mechanical strength (proof tested with>20 kpsi) was demonstrated in phase I. Major impurities that contribute to the loss and strength were identified. Modifications to current manufacturing processes were suggested and are currently being implemented to reduce these impurities."
Fiber Delivery Systems for Ultrashort Pulse Lasers,N68335-13-C-0117,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,421297.00,IRFLex Corporation,300 Ringgold Industrial Parkway,,Danville,VA,-,No,No,No,Francois Chenard,President,(434) 483-4304,francois.chenard@irflex.com,Francois Chenard,President,(434) 483-4304,francois.chenard@irflex.com,"Future military and commercial laser-based systems will incorporate high peak energy ultra-short pulse lasers (USPLs) operating in the near or mid-infrared. These USPL will require a beam delivery system (BDS) for use within defensive systems. Step-index optical fibers have been used as BDSs with excellent results at low power levels. However, the high peak energies in these USPLs will irreversibly damage these fibers. An alternative to step-index fibers is the hollow-core photonic band gap (HC-PBG) fiber. Silica based HC-PBG fibers have been produced with low losses, high beam quality and high damage thresholds for wavelength to 2 um, makes them suitable for near-infrared BDS. For wavelengths beyond 2 um, an alternative glass structure must be sought. Phase I work demonstrated the feasibility of developing an innovative chalcogenide glass based HC-PBG fiber beam delivery. Fiber designs were obtained that allow transmission of USPL with high peak energy. Phase II effort will develop the design and fabrication procedures to produce chalcogenide HC-PBG fiber for 2 um. Phase II efforts will build, test and characterize chalcogenide based HC-PBG fiber BDS packaged for USPL transmission at 2 um."
Computer-based Female Condom Education and Training for African American Women,1R43HD075644-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,152802.00,"ISA ASSOCIATES, INC.","201 N UNION ST, STE 330",,ALEXANDRIA,VA,-,No,No,No,Samantha L. Leaf,,703-739-0880,sleaf@isagroup.com,Samantha L. Leaf,,703-739-0880,sleaf@isagroup.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One in 32 African American women will be diagnosed with HIV in her lifetime compared to 1 in 526 White women. Beyond abstinence, the most effective way to prevent HIV is the male condom. Because condoms are male-controlled, women are often unable to negotiate their use. This is especially true for African American women, who are often socialized to be sexually passive and deferential to men. In addition, high incarceration rates and mortality among Black men creates a sex ratio imbalance that exacerbates power differentials. The female condom (FC), an intravaginal nitrile sheath, provides women with more control over HIV prevention and is as effective as the male condom at preventing HIV, STIs, and pregnancy. Furthermore, inconsistent users of the male condom achieve higher rates of protected sex acts by combining the two barrier methods. While FC use in the U.S. is currently low, FC education and training increases women's attitudes toward and use of female condoms. Black women in particular may benefit from FC education because they are more likely than other women to increase FC use after receiving training. In addition, FCs are more often used with primary partners, the most common source of HIV infection for African American women. To harness the promise of FC, scalable FC interventions that reach and educate large numbers of women are greatly needed. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducts ongoing reviews of the scientific literature to identify evidence-basedHIV behavioral interventions (EBIs) that may be effective for particular populations. Of the 73 EBIs identified, only one - Female Condom Skills Training (FEMIT) - is focused on providing education and training on the female condom (FC). To enhance the reach of this EBI, we intend to develop C- FEMIT, a computer-enabled version of the FEMIT intervention. Because EBIs that are tailored to the life- context of the individual are most effective, C-FEMIT will be tailored to the needs of African American women, a unique, high-risk group that accounts for the majority of HIV infections among women. This project is also designed to overcome two barriers to the implementation of EBIs. First, to manage the challenges faced by providers when integrating EBIs into clinical practice, we will develop a provider module designed to address intervention, coordinator, and organizational barriers. Second, lack of fidelity to the core elements of EBIs is common and leads to poorer outcomes. In collaboration with its creator,we will adapt the core elements of FEMIT, resulting in an intervention delivered with perfect fidelity. Utilizing these strategies, we hope to develop the first female condom EBI that is that is effective, provider-responsive, and scalable. Phase I prototype development will be informed by formative research with treatment service providers and input from our expert consultants. Next, the prototype will undergo usability testing and a prototype review with African American women seeking services at a community-based provider of HIV/STI services. Finally, treatment service providers will rate the functionality and content of the provider module. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project aims to develop a computer-based femalecondom education and training program for African American women who have sex with men. This project will allow clinics to provide an empirically validated HIV prevention intervention to their clients without creating additional demands on their already overburdened staff. The skills contained in this program will help African American women reduce unprotected sex acts, and ultimately prevent the spread of HIV, by adding an additional barrier method - the female condom - to their arsenal of protection strategies."
COPing with Shift Work,4R44HL114185-02,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,989733.00,"ISA ASSOCIATES, INC.","201 N UNION ST, STE 330",,ALEXANDRIA,VA,-,No,No,No,Royer F. Cook,,703-739-0880,rcook@isagroup.com,Rebekah K. Hersch,,703-739-0880,RHERSCH@ISAGROUP.COM,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Law enforcement officers frequently suffer from excessive fatigue, sleep disturbances, and other health problems associated with shift work and long working hours. The literature on tired officers is unequivocal: fatigued officers use more sick-leave, engage in the inappropriate use of force more frequently, experience more motor vehicle accidents and accidental injuries, and have a higher likelihood of dying in the line of duty. There currently exist very few interventions to support law enforcement in managing the health and safety burdens of shift work. Web-based workforce health interventions have shown considerable promise for improving employee health. Consistent with current trends in law enforcement training, web-based interventions provide a practical and cost-effective approach to reaching large numbers of officers working various schedules. The overall goal of this Fast-Track project is to develop and test a web-based program designed specifically to help law enforcement officers address the health and lifestyle challenges associated with shift work: sleep hygiene, nutrition, and physical activity. Not only are each of these behaviors independently impacted by shift work, but they are mutually interrelated, and therefore logically addressed with a holistic approach. In Phase I, a prototype will be developed and a feasibility test will be conducted. In Phase II, the full program will be developed and tested in a randomized controlled trial with 300 law enforcementofficers of the Baltimore County Police Department. The final program will be marketed to law enforcement agencies through the concentrated efforts by ISA's Center for Workforce Health in [partnership with the Virginia Police Benevolent Association and theUniversity of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center.] PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Law enforcement officers frequently suffer from excessive fatigue, sleep disturbances, and other health and safety concerns associated with shift work and long working hours. There currently exist very few interventions designed to help law enforcement officers adapt to the physiological and lifestyle challenges of shift work. The aim of this project is to develop and test an interactive, web- based program that will help officers cope with shift work by addressing the primary health concerns associated with non-traditional work schedules: sleep hygiene, nutrition, and physical activity. An effective intervention will improve the health and performance of law enforcement officers, thereby benefitting the more than 700,000 officers in the U.S. as well as the communities they serve."
Computer-based HIV Prevention for Seropositive Men,9R44MH103800-02A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,1085974.00,"ISA ASSOCIATES, INC.","201 N UNION ST, STE 330",,ALEXANDRIA,VA,-,No,No,No,Rebekah K. Hersch,,703-739-0880,rhersch@isagroup.com,Douglas W. Billings,,703-739-0880,dbillings@isagroup.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sexual transmission is the predominant route of HIV infection in the United States, and it is men who are primarily spreading the virus. Male-to-male sexual contact accounts for 72% of all new HIV infections in men while heterosexual contact accounts for 83% of all new HIV infections in women. Extrapolating this incidence data reveals that 75% of all new HIV cases result from high risk sexual activity by men. These new infections are also not evenly distributed throughout the population. African Americans comprise only 14% of the US population, but account for 44% of the new infections. Black men, in particular, are disproportionately burdened, accounting for 70% of new HIV cases among African Americans. In addition, African Americans tend to have sex with people of the same race. As the prevalence of HIV increases within this community, the risk of infection concomitantly increases with each new sexual encounter. Given this epidemiological reality, reducing sexual risk behaviors among African American HIV+ men who have sex with men (MSM), with women (MSW), and with both men and women (MSM/W) is a prevention imperative. To address this, we intend to develop and test Positively tHrIVing, an HIV behavioral intervention basedon modules 2 and 3 of the Healthy Living Project (HLP; a best evidence CDC intervention), and then tailored it to fit the unique needs of HIV+ African American men (both MSM and MSW). This will include a focus on the distinctive challenges faced by all men independent of race (e.g., the influence of gender roles on sexual risk behaviors), faced by African-Americans living in the United States (e.g., discrimination, socioeconomic issues), and the intersection of these factors with the gender of sexual partners (e.g., managing power inequalities in heterosexual relationships v. facing homophobia and cultural issues). Additionally, Positively tHrIVing will adopt a pro-health point of view so that it will be perceived as supportive and nonstigmatizing. Finally, Positively tHrIVing will be computer-based to further increase acceptability among patients and physicians, reduce staff time, lower costs, increase fidelity of treatment delivery, and enhance the probability of widespread dissemination. The results ofPhase I strongly support the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the program - far exceeding the three usability benchmarks established in the Phase I proposal. In Phase II we will complete development of the Positively tHrIVing program and test itseffectiveness in a pretest-posttest experimental design. 240 HIV+ African American men will be randomly assigned to receive either the computer-based Positively tHrIVing program or flash-enabled STD CDC fact sheets. Before, and at two points after randomassignment, participants' sexual transmission risk behavior, medication adherence, disclosure, health behaviors, and substance use will be assessed through an online survey-questionnaire. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project aims to develop a computer-based HIV behavioral intervention for HIV+ African American men. For clinics, this will allow them to provide an empirically validated HIV prevention intervention to their clients without creating additional demands on theiralready overburdened staff. For HIV+ African American men, the skills contained in this program will help them reduce risk behaviors and, ultimately, prevent the spread of HIV."
Material Classification for Physics-Based Sensor Simulation Using Stereo-Pair Imagery,N61340-13-C-0001,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749875.00,"JRM ENTERPRISES, INC.","4820 Southpoint Drive, Suite 203",,Fredericksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Harold Ginn,Contracts Manager,(540) 371-6590,harold.ginn@jrmtech.com,Christopher Fink,Principal Investigator,(540) 371-6590,chris.fink@jrmtech.com,"JRM proposes to leverage its Phase I design work to develop Phase II improvements in its material classification algorithms and software, particularly improvements leveraging spatial data available from stereo pair satellite imaging data sources. Specific Phase II innovations: Improved material classification techniques and software for leveraging 3D stereo-pair-derived data; material-prediction algorithm improvements that help alleviate common color-space material-ambiguities by leveraging spatial-relief discriminators based 3D data like that obtainable from stereo-pair satellite imagery. Super-resolution techniques and algorithms for adding detail beyond source data resolution based on key 3D properties of the material assignment. (i.e. sub-pixel material assignments, surface roughness, DHR variation, elevation maps, etc). Fast, efficient Software I/O techniques for ingesting stereo-pair 3D data, from I/O routines tailored to existing COTS 3D spatial data products (surface normal and DEM) to algorithms and software for processing stereo-pair imagery into 3D-point clouds where refined data does not exist. Improved GPU-techniques for sensor simulation with COTS IG providers for improved EO, IR, and radar channel simulation which leverage the above stereo-pair imagery-derived enhancements. Phase II Simulation and Algorithm Development Testbed, for testing the Phase II improved algorithms against simulated stereo-pair satellite data. Improved material data libraries for producing and exploiting stereo-pair-enhanced material-classified terrain databases."
High Speed Representation of Complex Scenes,HQ0147-13-C-7119,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,990682.00,"JRM ENTERPRISES, INC.","4820 Southpoint Drive, Suite 203",,Fredericksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Shon Ramsel,ADMINISTRATION MANAGER,(540) 371-6590,ADMIN@JRMTECH.COM,Karl Leodler,PROJECT MAMANGER,(540) 498-7770,KARL.LEODLER@JRMTECH.COM,"Leveraging Phase I design and proof-of-concept demonstration software, JRM proposes to develop Phase II prototype simulation software called OSCRE (""On-the-fly Scene Construction and Rendering Engine"") to provide FLITES support for large-area, complex backgrounds. This Phase II prototype for FLITES will allow rendering highly complex, large area urban and littoral scene databases directly from GIS datasources at HWIL frame-rates, with support for on-the-fly (OTF) material classification and credible, physics-based signature synthesis and sampling. First, JRM will implement additional advanced OTF data processing and scenario definition techniques, to support loading and materially-classifying large amounts of raw terrain data, while synchronizing the trajectories of 3D vehicles and FLITES targets within user-defined scenarios. Second, JRM will implement additional advanced OTF GPU-based signature synthesis and rendering techniques, to carefully address all the signature requirements for MDA, including appropriate spectral synthesis, Nyquist-oversampling, and directional effects (e.g. Sandford-Robertson-based solar glint and thermal emission). Third, JRM will implement a flexible, fast, and comprehensive interface between OSCRE and FLITES to assure correlation during background / target imagery production and synthesis, while retaining phenomenology and sampling. Finally, JRM will perform verification and validation studies of the Phase II prototype against non-real-time government model codes and field data."
"A Lightweight, Flexible, Scalable Approach to Trainer Systems",N00024-13-C-4518,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,744074.00,"JRM ENTERPRISES, INC.","4820 Southpoint Drive, Suite 203",,Fredericksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Shon Ramsel,Administration Manager,(540) 371-6590,admin@jrmtech.com,Karl Leodler,Project Manager,(540) 371-6590,karl.leodler@jrmtech.com,"The MH-60R sensor systems being integrated into the Aircraft Carrier Tactical Support Centers (CV-TSC) introduce multiple heterogeneous sensor streams of remotely linked data for which training is essential for effective mission execution. These new support centers utilize modern service based architecture and high speed data links to provide the capability to display and process many data streams simultaneously. Current training system approaches lack the scalability, flexibility and fidelity to provide a realistic training experience. An innovative training systems architecture is needed, capable of running embedded on the tactical systems as well as ashore, and having the ability to scale to support multiple MH-60R sensor suites, targets, platforms and communication links. During the Phase I effort, JRM produced a design for a comprehensive, physics-based warfare simulation environment, to be fully implemented in a Phase II effort. This Scalable, Comprehensive Simulation Architecture (SCSA) offers realistic, physics-based, real-time simulation of the entire MH-60R sensor suite, the CV-TSC station""s main sensor control, display, and analysis hardware, and the sensor datalink. This design also supports multiple scenario and sensor tier elements and provides the ability to add additional sensors with a minimum amount of complexity and cross-domain coupling."
Light weight Rubidium-Metal Vapor Circulating System,HQ0147-13-C-7337,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99999.00,"Logos Technologies, LLC",2701 Prosperity Ave,Suite 400,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Daniel McKeen,Sr. Contracts Manager,(703) 835-9752,dmckeen@logostech.net,Jason Zweiback,Sr. Scientist,(925) 344-4339,jzweiback@logostech.net,"We are proposing a novel architecture for a rubidium-metal vapor circulating system. This system has the benefits of long lifetime, extensive use of COTS equipment, and the ability to provide clean helium gas which could be used as gas curtains to protect optical windows. The system will be designed from lightweight materials and individual subsystems will be designed as LRUs for maintainability."
Polymeric Biocomposite for Revegetation of Soil,W912HZ-13-P-0070,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,100000.00,Materials Modification Inc,2809-K Merrilee Drive,,Fairfax,VA,22031-,No,Yes,No,T.s. Sudarshan,President and CEO,(703) 560-1371,sudarshan@matmod.com,Krishnaswamy K. Rangan,Chief Chemist,(703) 560-1371,kris@matmod.com,"Defense training activities can result in reduction of vegetation cover, disturbance of soil surface and crusts, and degradation of soil aggregates, making the land more vulnerable to wind erosion. Currently, petro-polymers are being extensively studied for soil stabilization and remediation. These polymers are expensive and possibly dangerous to health and the environment. Biopolymers are promising in this regard as they not only can stabilize the soil, but also degrade into benign products, that beyond not harming the environment, may actually add to nutrients in the soil, thus hastening vegetation. MMI will develop a biopolymer biofiber composite that will not only stabilize the soil, but also act as a substrate for simultaneous revegetation. Phase I studies will focus on providing preliminary (proof-of-concept) data for methods of biopolymer/seed delivery based hydroseeding. It will be proven that the composite will prevent sediment transport in runoff water, bind soil well, preventing dust emissions, and enable rapid growth of grass cover. Based on the results of the preliminary testing and the application design schemes, Phase II will focus on pilot-scale test for application and evaluation of biopolymer for rapid re-vegetation of heavily disturbed soils in areas where soil disturbances contribute significantly topsoil loss, excessive dust emissions, and/or reduced soil fertility. This will be followed by technology transfer for large-scale field use."
Multifunctional Textile Coating of Military Fabrics,W911QY-13-P-0472,DOD,ARMY,STTR,2013,1,150000.00,Materials Modification Inc,2809-K Merrilee Drive,,Fairfax,VA,22031-,No,Yes,No,T.s. Sudarshan,President and CEO,(703) 560-1371,sudarshan@matmod.com,Krishnaswamy K. Rangan,Chief Chemist,(703) 560-1371,kris@matmod.com,"This STTR Phase I project will develop a novel multifunctional coating to combat a wide range of threats in a variety of complex situations for the warfighter. Military combat uniforms currently use NYCO fabrics (Nylon/cotton 50/50). The US Army is seeking new coating technologies that will impart multifunctional properties such as antistatic, conductive, flame resistance, improved abrasion resistance, and ballistic/stab protection to existing NYCO fabric clothing systems. Fire resistant fabrics are expensive because they are made using special fibers. Imparting fire and heat resistance property to the NYCO fabrics by simple FR coatings is a cost-effective approach. This can also help extend their use in other advanced military textile applications such as tents, tarpaulin covers and flight gear. Recent studies have shown that ionic liquids have excellent thermal and fire resistant properties. Since ionic liquids contain charged species they can also exhibit excellent antistatic properties. In the proposed Phase I effort, a new multifunctional coating based on ionic liquids will be developed for military fabrics. MMI has significant experience in the development of ionic liquids for specific end applications. The multifunctional NYCO fabrics treated in Phase I will be tested for vertical flame resistance, antistatic testing, mechanical durability and launderability. In the Phase II effort, the coating composition and process will be optimized for producing multifunctional fabrics for specific military gear that will be field tested."
Reactive Structural Materials for Enhanced Blasts,HDTRA1-13-P-0014,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149981.00,"MATSYS, Inc.",45490 Ruritan Circle,,Sterling,VA,20164-,No,No,No,Tony F. Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,Tony F. Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,"MATSYS proposes to develop reactive materials compositions and processing techniques for structural reactive composites for blast enhancement. This effort will combine our unique expertise in instrumented-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) with new approaches in reactive materials design to develop a new generation of cost-efficient and highly reactive materials. The proposed material system will use a blend of elemental or compound powders capable of an energetic (exothermic) chemical reaction. The existence of different powders will allow for tailoring of the mechanical and reactive properties of the material through engineered variations of the volume fraction of each powder to control the type of reaction, the form of energy release and the material break-up mechanism. During this program, we will demonstrate the versatility of the approach by fabricating highly reactive materials that will significantly enhance the blast performance. These materials can be used to replace structurally inert materials with structural reactive materials to enhance weapon effectiveness and reduce payload. Upon successful demonstration, this powder-based process can be easily applied to different powders, and scaled for cost-effective, high-volume production of fully dense structural reactive composites."
Kinetic Energy Control for Reactive Fragments,FA8651-13-C-0163,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,746463.00,"MATSYS, Inc.",45490 Ruritan Circle,,Sterling,VA,20164-,No,No,No,Tony F. Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,Tony F. Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,"ABSTRACT: MATSYS proposes to develop high energy density reactive materials to enhance the performance of Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). We propose to develop the technology for small fragmentation warhead with high lethality and low collateral damage (LCD). We plan to achieve our goal using a powder metallurgy (PM) approach to fabricate a high reactivity, self consuming, controlled fragmentation warhead. Our design parameters include reactive material formulation, powder particle size, warhead case design, attenuation techniques and consolidation processes. The proposed material system will use a blend of several elemental or compound powders capable of participating in an energetic (exothermic) chemical reaction. The existence of different powder materials will allow for tailoring of the mechanical and reactive properties of the material through engineered variations of the volume fraction of each reactant and by adjusting their particle size. The consolidation will occur below the reaction initiation temperature to prevent any energy release during compaction and preserve the stored chemical energy of the exothermic reaction between the reactant powders. This effort will combine our unique expertise in powder consolidation with new approaches in reactive powder design to develop a new generation of small fragmentation warhead with high lethality and LCD. BENEFIT: The proposed program will have dual use applications in military as well as in commercial industries. The material can be transitioned into several Air Force hardware programs for military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) and other low collateral damage scenarios. Commercial applications include Homeland Security operations and law enforcement operations requiring low collateral damage."
Novel Hybrid Structural Reactive Composites,FA8651-13-C-0016,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749918.00,"MATSYS, Inc.",45490 Ruritan Circle,,Sterling,VA,20164-,No,No,No,Tony F. Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,Tony F. Zahrah,President,(703) 964-0400,zahrah@matsys.com,"ABSTRACT: MATSYS proposes to develop novel hybrid compositions and processing techniques for structural reactive composites for performance enhancement of Air Force munitions. This effort will combine our unique expertise in instrumented-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) with new approaches in reactive materials design to develop a new generation of highly reactive materials. The proposed material system will use a blend of elemental or compound powders capable of an energetic (exothermic) chemical reaction. The existence of different powders allows for tailoring of the mechanical and reactive properties of the material through engineered variations of the volume fraction of each powder to control the type of reaction and the form of energy release as well as the mechanical properties. During the Phase I project, we demonstrated the feasibility of our concept and designed new and highly reactive powder blends that showed a 10-times increase in blast performance over inert material (steel) and 75% improvement in blast performance over existing reactive materials. In Phase II, we plan to optimize these formulations and their processing, and develop net-shape forming technology for munitions applications of interest to the Air Force. Upon successful demonstration, this powder-based process can be easily scaled for cost-effective, high-volume production of structural reactive composites. BENEFIT: The proposed program will have dual use commercialization with military as well as commercial applications. The material can be transitioned into several military hardware programs for weapon development in urban terrain (MOUT) and other low collateral damage scenarios. Commercial applications include potential use in petroleum exploration and oil well stimulation, and law enforcement applications."
Techniques for Performing Warhead Characterization,HQ0147-13-C-7340,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149530.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Ron Knobler,Program Manager,(540) 373-2374,rknobler@mcqinc.com,"To provide the Armed Forces with accurate lethality assessments for fielded munitions, warhead characterization is performed in ground based arena and sled testing. The current procedures are time consuming and costly, while only producing a fraction of the desired data. In the current method, the device under test is surrounded by switch screens to record fragment impact time and bundles of foam insulation to capture fragments. Fragments must be recovered by hand to be weighed and measured, requiring weeks of labor. This process is time consuming and gives no way to correlate fragment mass and velocity. Additionally, only a fraction of the fragments are recovered. To meet the need for an automatic method of full hemisphere warhead fragmentation characterization, McQ will develop a system which replaces the ring of switch screens with a network of sensors containing high speed cameras. The system will record and analyze video of the warhead fragmentation then automatically produce a report describing the mass, size, speed, and trajectory of each fragment. The system will be capable of setup by two technicians in a matter of hours and will require no manual recovery or analysis of fragments after the test."
Blast dosimeter for monitoring and documenting Blast exposure for Breacher and route clearance personnel,M67854-13-C-6512,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149848.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Mark Winston,Senior Engineer,(540) 373-2374,mwinston@mcqinc.com,"Exposure to explosive blasts is a constant concern for the modern warfighter. Such blasts can originate from gre-nades, mortars, bombs, IEDs, and so on. Furthermore, exposure can occur in both combat and training situations. Since explosive blasts can cause internal injuries that may not show symptoms for days or even months, a device capable of measuring blast exposure would provide numerous medical benefits. Such a blast dosimeter would allow medical personnel to determine the likelihood of internal injury and thus be better able to diagnose and treat those exposed to blasts. Furthermore, the ability to record blast event data would provide valuable information on what happens during a blast so that future medical treatment procedures and safety devices can be improved. The proposed blast dosimeter features accurate blast wave measurement, low false alarm rate, long battery life, and a price point that will allow dosimeters to be distributed to a large number of warfighters for a reasonable cost."
Novel Sampling Device for the Surveillance of Adult Flying Insect Vectors,W81XWH-13-C-0113,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,146215.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Robert Fish,Chief Information Officer,(540) 373-2374,rfish@mcqinc.com,The Army Defense Health Program has a need for a novel freestanding device to sample and collect a broad spectrum of adult flying insects for the purpose of analyzing possible disease vectors. McQ proposes to develop a flying insect sampling device (FISDe) that utilizes a modular approach to allow the assembly of components necessary for the survey mission. This device will allow for the automatic counting and identification of flying insects along with autonomous reporting and aggregation of the survey data.
UAS Air Dropped Remotely Operated Sensors,FA8651-13-C-0157,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,746113.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Chief Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Brent Roeder,Director of R&D,(540) 373-2374,broeder@mcqinc.com,"ABSTRACT: The Air Force needs a Remotely Operated Sensor, Beacon, and Navigation Aid system that can be dropped to a very precise location and provide a broad variety of information and intelligence from a denied territory in a deep Battlespace. This system has to provide real time information on the activities, weather, and dangers in the forward area, as well as, serve as a navigation beacon (or provide offset targeting) in GPS denied environments. In Phase I, McQ performed research to demonstrate conceptually a broad range of technologies for the AiR Dropped Remotely Operated Sensor System (ARDROSS). As its name implies, ARDROSS is a beacon system and unattended ground sensor (UGS) capable of being precisely deployed via air drop in remote areas. The system will feature a modular design that allows the Air Force to deploy beaconing sensors capable of being configured to detect different targets for different missions and relay this information over a long haul communication (LHC) link to a user or backend server. The system will enable the Air Force special operating forces to understand the situation and the issues in a denied territory. BENEFIT: The ARDROSS can be seamlessly integrated with the OmniSense Common Operating Picture (COP) user interface technology developed under past SBIRs. McQ is supplying sensor technology and user display technology to many DOD, DOE, DHS, Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Program Office applications. These customers provide the opportunity to introduce the technology developed under this SBIR to a broad base of government customers. These opportunities will generate revenue both from the improved information fusion implementation but also from the sale of additional systems."
Remote Interrogator for Munition Recorder Instrument Packages (RIMRIP),FA8651-13-M-0187,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149898.00,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Keith Armstrong,Cheif Operating Officer,(540) 373-2374,karmstrong@mcqinc.com,Ron Knobler,Program Manager,(540) 373-2374,rknobler@mcqinc.com,"ABSTRACT: RIMRIP will be developed to remotely gain access to data stored in a data recorder after a shock test. Based on McQ""s extensive RF communication, embedded electronics, data recorder, and shock hardening experience, it will develop an extremely small form factor and inexpensive solution to meet all of the requirements of this system. During Phase I, McQ will select the appropriate COTS/custom electronic components to perform a series of soil and salt water communication testing to determine the expected communications range, reliability and data rate of the proposed NFC based solution. After finalizing an approach based on the results of this testing, McQ will perform trade studies and a downselection of components that would both conform to the specified RIMRIP form factor, shock, and environmental specifications. The complete tests results and design will be presented at both a formal preliminary design review (PDR) at the end of Phase I, as well as documented in a final report. BENEFIT: A remote interrogator for munitions recorder instrument packages will allow for more reliable retrieval of data collected for instrumentation during a shock test compared with current methods -- the data can be recovered immediately after the test, without the slow and delicate process of disassembling the device under test to gain access to the recorder, to then download the data. McQ has expertise with small custom embedded system design, g-hardened applications, data recorders, developing custom reliable communications solutions, and developing polished products that are used by various government and military agencies. Therefore, this RIMRIP system will integrate with a variety of military instrument packages to provide a general remote interrogator product to be used in various environments."
Buoy Guard System,WC-133R-13-CN-0087,DOC,NOAA,SBIR,2013,1,94895.72,McQ Inc.,1551 Forbes St.,,Fredericksburg,VA,22405-,No,No,No,Mark Winston,,,,Mark A. Winston,Senior Engineer,(540) 373-2374,mwinston@mcqinc.com,"McQ will develop a complete conceptual design for a Buoy Guard System (BGS). This system will detect the presence of intruders at and on the buoy. It will initiate deterrent actions to persuade and force the intruders away from the buoy. It will also collect imagery and other data about the intruders and about their activities associated with the buoy. This data, along with the basic warning will be immediately sent via satellite communications to the buoy operators so that action may be taken when appropriate. Our research during Phase I will investigate a variety of basic detection modalities and select those that provide the optimal performance. These will be built upon high performance, ultra-low power systems previously developed by McQ for similar applications. We will also use advanced image processing technology developed by McQ for similar applications to capture imagery of the vandals and their activity. The information will be relayed by sitcom to buoy operators immediate for action in addition to being stored on the buoy for later retrieval. The system will be developed as a kit that can be readily installed on a variety of buoy configurations and will be completely self-contained and self-powered."
Predictive Model for Imaging Underwater Objects through the Air-Sea Interface - MP 61-12,N00014-13-M-0029,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149890.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Tom Giddings,Senior Analyst,(703) 326-2828,giddings@metsci.com,"The proposed effort seeks to leverage existing and potential future physical modeling efforts, and to develop new physical models as required, to provide a comprehensive simulation and performance prediction capability for airborne electro-optical imaging of submerged objects. A plan will be developed to integrate these models into Mine Warfare Command & Control software systems to provide tactically relevant system performance predictions to support mission planning and tactical decision making."
Adaptive multi-sensor wide area situational awareness system - MP 85-12,FA8650-13-M-1563,DOD,USAF,STTR,2013,1,149929.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric W. George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Jeff Jones,Senior Manager,(703) 414-3674,jones@metsci.com,"ABSTRACT: Existing machine learning algorithms have difficulty using all available data about a problem. This STTR will develop a new algorithm that can make full use of all available data, whether that data is labeled or not, and even when some data types or data resolutions are not available during operation. BENEFIT: This STTR will develop a novel machine learning algorithm for reasoning about geospatial data and activities. This will provide benefit to government situational awareness problems, as well as other organizations interested in geospatial reasoning"
Through the Sensor Active Sonar Enhancement,N00014-13-C-0068,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,742563.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Terence Bazow,Senior Manager,(703) 326-2831,bazow@metsci.com,"This Through the Sensor Active Sonar Enhancement SBIR aims to develop algorithms for in-situ adaptive sonar performance prediction. These algorithms will provide spatially and temporally varying estimates for terms in the sonar performance prediction equation such as clutter, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), probability of detection (PD), and false alarm rate (FAR). The primary purpose of these estimates is to provide statistical distributions for the terms in the sonar equation. These distributions, referred to as sonar equation maps (SE-MAPs), characterize the expected value and its uncertainty over space and time and can be used for sonar performance prediction for system design and for real-time operation of warfare systems. Operationally, the SE-MAPs will used as input to space-time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithms for data normalization (also referred to as whitening) and suppression of clutter and other unwanted noise sources. Data normalization is a critical processing component of Information Processing (IP) streams, providing the means for effective and robust target detection, tracking and classification. The SE-MAPs can combine historical data from disparate sensor surveillance platforms to produce fused geospatial-temporal distributions for use by operational sensor systems and for system development and design."
Using Features to Reduce LFA and CFLA Clutter - MP 14-13,N00024-13-P-4017,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79869.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Lawrence Stone,Chief Scientist,(703) 326-2840,stone@metsci.com,"Metron has developed a detector-tracker for Mid Frequency Active (MFA). This detector-tracker computes likelihood functions and likelihood ratio surfaces from the un-normalized matched filter output of the MFA system. While doing this we have discovered a number of features that significantly reduce false alarms. The process involves identifying a feature, characterizing its statistical behavior, and developing a likelihood ratio function based on the probability distribution of the feature""s response when a target is present to the distribution when no target is present. The power and virtue of working with likelihood ratios is that there is a principled and optimal way to combine this feature information with the likelihood ratio surface produced from the matched filter output, namely multiply the likelihood ratios together to form a cumulative likelihood ratio surface. Peaks in this new surface become candidates for detections. When combined in this fashion, the likelihood ratios from a well-constructed feature will reinforce the peaks due to targets and reduce those due to clutter. This will reduce the false alarm rate without lowering detection probability. We plan to adapt and apply this process to the LFA/CLFA tracker Metron is developing under ONR funding."
Fully Adaptive Radar - MP 115-12,FA8650-13-M-1656,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149972.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Kristine Bell,Senior Analyst,(703) 326-2913,bell@metsci.com,"ABSTRACT: The goals of this project are to (i) develop a theoretical framework for a fully adaptive radar (FAR) system that includes specification of the feedback mechanism from the receiver to the transmitter and specification of performance metrics to assess FAR system performance, and (ii) to develop analytical as well as computer simulation methods for determining the performance improvement achieved by the FAR system over standard fee-forward radar (FFR) systems. We propose to develop a general FAR framework that can be applied to a variety of missions. Using a first principles approach, we develop a framework that consists of seven components: environment, transmitter, receiver sensor, adaptive detector, covariance matrix estimator, mission processor, and controller. In our formulation, the mission performance objective induces component performance objectives on the adaptive detector, covariance matrix estimator, and mission processor (tracker). We will also develop a computer simulation and experimental test to demonstrate the performance of the model, and will analyze the performance of the FAR system in terms of global performance metrics, component performance metrics, training data support, and computational complexity. BENEFIT: Radar systems are crucial for robust surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance in all weather conditions and over wide ranges of interest. Most radar systems employ a feed-forward processing chain in which they first perform some low-level processing of received echo data and then pass the processed data on to some higher-level processor, which extracts information to achieve a mission objective. The application of artificial cognition to radar systems offers much promise for improved sensing as well as the creation of new sensing modalities. Specifically, FAR offers the potential for two to ten times performance over state-of-the-art in terms of output signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), and error variance in parameter estimation. This translates to a 3-10 dB improvement in target detection performance over the state-of-the-art. The framework developed in Phase I will be quite general. As such it can be applied to a variety of radar systems for a variety of missions, and can be translated into other domains such as computing, autonomous vehicles, and perhaps even neuroscience and evolutionary biology. The project will develop the fundamental tools necessary to design and analyze a cognitive processing system, and will enable further research in the abovementioned diverse fields."
Near Field Passive Tracking - MP 71-10 (SBIR Phase II Propsoal MP 83-12),N00024-13-C-4540,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,710243.00,"METRON, INCORPORATED",1818 LIBRARY ST STE 600,,RESTON,VA,20190-5631,No,No,No,Eric George,CFO,(703) 326-2838,egeorge@metsci.com,Bob Zarnich,Subject Matter Expert,(703) 326-2884,zarnich@metsci.com,"In this Phase II we extend the applicatioin of the intensity Likelihood Detection Ratio (iLRT) methodology to the problem of detection and tracking of submarines, by primary means of a distributed field of passive sonobuoys, for ship based Helicopters. The system software is developed and targeted at the CV-TSC system for aircraft carriers. In addition to passive sensors extensions to support most sensor formats from the MH-60 in support of ASW operations are made enabling a multi-platform multi-sensor, fully automated ASW detection and tracking capability for the CV-TSC."
Automated Flight Safety Inference Engine (AFSIE) System,NNX13CK03C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,186420.00,MILLENNIUM ENGINEERING AND INTEGRATION COMPANY,2231 CRYSTAL DR STE 711,,ARLINGTON,VA,22202-3724,No,No,No,Dianne Thomas,Director of Contracts,7034137765,dthomas@meicompany.com,Robertson S. Augustine,Lead Engineer,3217571503,raugustine@meicompany.com,"We propose to develop an innovative Autonomous Flight Safety Inference Engine (AFSIE) system to autonomously and reliably terminate the flight of an errant launch vehicle. This proposed phase 1 research is innovative in that it combines proven NASA-developed AFS algorithms, real-time hazard assessment algorithms and hazard envelopes generated from Joint Advanced Range Safety System Real Time (JARSS RT) and an on-board vehicle simulator into a refined onboard software inference engine that monitors navigation states, mission flight rules and onboard anomaly instrumentation. An autonomous flight safety system must be able to reliably perform accurate and autonomous navigation so as to determine the vehicle position, velocity and attitude states in real time. Reliability requirements for AFS are high due to stringent loss-of-life constraints, often leading to redundant navigation sensors with attendant cost impacts. Our innovative solution proposes to satisfy RCC accuracy and reliability requirements by exploiting the low-cost COTS sensor and processor architectures that are currently being baselined for the Common NanoSat/Launcher Avionics Technology (CNAT) study and a Nano launch vehicle avionics design. This dual use hardware implementation will greatly reduce the recurring costs for the production of an autonomous flight safety system. This has significant implications for reducing the costs for launch vehicles, particularly Nano and Micro Satellite Launch Vehicles (NMSLV), where range safety costs currently consume a burdensome percentage of the launch cost. Under this proposed phase 1 effort, we will 1) identify the range requirements and develop a plan for range safety for approval of the system, 2) identify reliable low-cost COTS hardware that satisfies the range accuracy and reliability requirements and, 3) develop an end to end simulation to demonstrate the AFSIE Concept of Operations."
Control by Exception for Tactical Departure Scheduling,NNX13CA12C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,199941.00,"Mosaic ATM, Inc.",VA,Suite 300,Leesburg,VA,20175-5685,No,No,No,Chris Stevenson,Business Official,5404547458,stevenson@mosaicatm.com,Kevin Day,Principal Analyst,8177977505,kday@mosaicatm.com,"Tactical Departure Scheduling (TDS) is a common activity in Air Traffic Control (ATC) in the National Airspace System (NAS) that requires significant coordination for individual flights and that has the potential to impose delay on impacted flights. Some of the delay that is imposed through the TDS process is necessary, but some of the delay may be unnecessary. The current TDS process is implemented through the Call for Release (CFR) process, which is also referred to as the Approval Request (APREQ) process. In this process, the Traffic Management Unit (TMU) informs the Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) that a specific group of flights cannot be cleared by the ATCT to take off until the departure release is approved by the TMU on an individual flight basis. When such CFR programs are in place, an ATC Specialist (ATCS) in the ATCT must contact the TMU via a voice line to request approval for a flight to depart. Once the TMU provides a release time window for the flight, the ATCS in the ATCT must then maneuver the flight to make sure that it takes off within the release time window, or else a new release time must be requested.The purpose of this proposal is to address research and development on the TDS by Exception process, or TDS-E. The TDS-E concept includes a computer automation system that monitors traffic demand in the en route streams of traffic, as well as demand of flights that will depart from airports under the en route stream and climb into the overhead stream. Instead of requiring all such departures to receive individual approval before they take off, under the TDS-E concept, the computer automation system will provide advisories to the TMU and to the ATCT to indicate when CFR procedures are required, and specifically which flights should be subject to CFR. Additional features of the TDS-E capability may provide guidance indicating that some of the normal CFR restrictions can be relaxed."
Rapid Automated Mission Planning System,NNX13CD14C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,699526.00,"Mosaic ATM, Inc.",VA,Suite 300,Leesburg,VA,20175-5685,No,No,No,Chris Stevenson,Business Official,5404058576,stevenson@mosaicatm.com,Dean Northcutt,Principal Investigator,8582549442,dnorthcutt@mosaicatm.com,"The proposed innovation is an automated UAS mission planning system that will rapidly identify emergency (contingency) landing sites, manage contingency routing, and dynamically evaluate route changes for viability and safe operations in the NAS. Specifically, RAMPS will feature a pre-flight contingency planning capability that rapidly determines viable alternate/emergency landing sites based on a UAS's contingency ability and safe routing restrictions. RAMPS will include an in-flight dynamic contingency management capability that assesses ATC-requested re-routing and threats posed by weather to determine feasibility of modifications to the UAS flight trajectory. RAMPS can operate as a recommender system, providing operators with a narrow list of best options to help facilitate timely decision-making. RAMPS capabilities will provide UAS Operators with valuable time saving examination of a proposed route and possible contingency operations along that route?automating what has been an exceptionally tedious and lengthy manual process during mission planning. The in-flight component of RAMPS will provide the UAS operator with a dynamic mission evaluation tool?exceptionally important when a reconnaissance and surveillance mission is introduced into the routing planning process."
"Cryogenically Flexible, Low Permeability Thoraeus Rubber H2 Dispenser Hose",DE-FG02-13ER90674,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa P. Campbell,Ms.,5406266266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,Dr.,5406266266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,"NanoSonic has recently developed high strength-to-weight ratio Thoraeus Rubber composites that maintain radiation resistance and EMI shielding upon severe and repeated mechanicals strains. This state-of-the-art, flexible shielding material was designed as a bladder for space-based enclosures that required ultra-low air permeability, radiation tolerance, resistance to hydrogen (H2) embrittlement and creep over an ultra-wide service temperature range of -100C to 450C. NanoSonic specializes in the production of low glass transition (Tg) polymer matrix resins that also afford side-chain moieties capable of bonding with a wide range of fillers, tough textiles, and carbon or glass composite scrims. Typical low Tg polymers are non-polar and do not form durable interfaces with reinforcing agents, which ultimately leads to disbanding and unreliable performance. In support of the DOEs Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fuel Cell Technology and Hydrogen Delivery goals to realize hydrogen as a safe, reliable, and cost effective replacement for gasoline, NanoSonic offers Thoraeus Rubber as a flexible, tough, low-permeability H2 dispenser hose. Thoraeus Rubber has been demonstrated to maintain low air permeability ( & lt;1.58cc/100in2/day/atm) upon the triple fold cold flex test conducted at -50 C. Herein, an innovative reinforced version would be developed to optimize ultra-low hydrogen permeability and embrittlement. NanoSonic has produced related Shape Memory-Metal Rubber flexible hoses with inner diameters ranging from to 1.5 and Thoraeus Rubber tapes up to 100 in length. For this program, hose specimens would be produced with inner diameters similar to those currently used to dispense gasoline to meet the service requirement of 25,550 fills per year at a cost of $2-4 gallon of gas equivalent (gge) H2 by 2020. The outer diameter would be optimized as a function of flexibility and toughness to survive both
the Joule-Thompson effect thermal cycles and a maximum working pressure of at least 860 bar. Feasibility exists as NanoSonics morphing hose performs in freezing seawater to repeatedly change its shape to maintain a continual optimal hydrodynamic form without rupture. For safety considerations, the multifunctional Thoraeus Rubber films are comprised of low Tg, copolymer matrix resins modified with alternating layers of nanoparticles with high and low atomic numbers (Z) for radiation resistance, or in this case, electrostatic discharge (ESD). Feasibility exists for ESD protection as NanoSonics unique molecular level deposition technique yields pinhole-free nanocomposites with ultra-thin (10 100 nm), uniform layers of particles that maintain EMI shielding (up to -100 dB over 4 18 GHz) upon mechanical strains up to 50 % elongation. NanoSonics partner, ILC Dover, is the leading manufacturer of flexible pharmaceutical containment systems as well as radiation tolerant space suits. NanoSonics proposed hose materials would be qualified with assistance from ILC and be considered for dual-use commercialization to further reduce production costs. During Phase I, life cycle constraints including permeability, durability, and cost shall be considered to increase the current TRL from 4 to 5. During Phase II, ILC Dover shall validate a Thoraeus Rubber H2 transport dispenser workable prototype in a variety of environmental setting and handling conditions to increase the TRL from 5 to 7."
"Lightweight, Low Permeability, Cryogenic Thoraeus RubberTM Inflatables",NNX13CJ39P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,125000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,Contracts Administrator,5406266266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,Principal Investigator,5406266266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,"NanoSonic has developed a candidate state-of-the-art inflatable as a novel bladder material for life critical, space habitats that maintains low air permeability (<0.0017 cc/100in2/day/atm) upon the triple fold cold flex test conducted at -50 ?C. The multifunctional Thoraeus Rubber?(TR) films are comprised of a low glass transition temperature (Tg), - 100 ?C, copolymer matrix resin modified with alternating layers of ultra-thin, uniform layers of proprietary nanoparticles for radiation resistance. NanoSonic's unique molecular level deposition technique yields pinhole-free nanocomposites with that maintain radiation and EMI shielding (up to -100 dB) upon severe (50 % elongation) and repeated mechanical strain, a property that few if any inflatable exhibit. NanoSonic proposes to produce a triply redundant bladder assembly comprised of several layers of TR?films bonded with our low areal density self-healing foam, for a total areal density of less than 6 oz/yd2. To substantiate long-term use in space, the down-selected, puncture resistant assemblies shall be exposed to gamma, electron, and heavy ions at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at Brookhaven National Laboratory via our partner, Colorado State University (CSU). Low air permeability and flammability resistance would be verified after simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) exposure and cryogenic flex testing. NanoSonic has teamed with seaming and space systems experts who will conduct leak and adhesion testing, and assist with habitat construction. In support of NASA's goals for a robust space exploration program, it is anticipated that NanoSonic's lightweight, low permeable bladders shall enable space inflatable modules that exhibit long-term, 5 year, radiation resistance upon inflation, minimize launch mass, repair/maintenance, size and costs."
Semiconductor Nanomembrane Based Flight Sensors and Arrays,NNX13CK13P,NASA,NASA,STTR,2013,1,125000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,Contracts Administrator,5406266266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Hang Ruan,Principal Investigator,5406266266,hruan@nanosonic.com,"The NASA Phase I program would develop and demonstrate semiconductor nanomembrane (NM) based flight sensors and arrays on flexible substrates, using SOI (Silicon on Insulator) silicon NM technique in combination with our pioneering HybridsilTM copolymer nanocomposite materials. Specifically, ultrathin nanostructured sensor skins with integrated interconnect elements and electronic devices that can be applied to new or existing wind tunnel models for skin friction analysis would be developed. NanoSonic has demonstrated the feasibility of NM transducer materials in such sensor skins for the measurement of flow-induced skin friction and pressure. Early experimental results have compared very favorably with data from other sensor gages.Major improvements from the previous Metal RubberTM based sensor include faster response time and less temperature dependence due to the high carrier mobility with the inorganic NMs. During this NASA STTR program, a semiconductor NM based distributed sensor array will be developed (Phase I) and deployed to measure in-flight (Phase II) the surface properties on an airplane wing surface. The properties that will be measured will include shear stress and pressure. With the high frequency response of the NM sensors (100 kHz), it is possible that laminar to turbulence transition can be detected. In phase I, an existing Mach 0.7 wind tunnel will be used to check out the performance of the sensors."
Polymer Derived Rare Earth Silicate Nanocomposite Protective Coatings for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Systems,NNX13CS02P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124997.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,Contracts Administrator,5406266266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vince Baranauskas,Principal Investigator,5406266266,vince@nanosonic.com,"The objective of this Phase I SBIR program is to develop polymer derived rare earth silicate nanocomposite environmental barrier coatings (EBC) for providing next-generation corrosion resistance and thermal insulation to Aerojet's Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) systems. The NTP environmental barrier coatings will be developed from NanoSonic's innovate inorganic polymeric nanocomposite resins that crosslink to dimensionally stable gels under ambient conditions and gracefully transition to high temperature corrosion and thermally insulative resistant coatings at elevated temperatures. Through a synergism of nanoparticle?rare earth silicate load transfer pathways, NanoSonic's proposed EBC topcoat technology will readily absorb and dissipate high velocity impact threats while providing exceptional thermal shock resistance necessary for enhanced survivability of nickel-chromium based alloys within current and future NTP rocket engine rocket thrust chambers and nozzles. Working with team members Aerojet and the University of Washington, NanoSonic will molecularly engineer a family of rare earth silicate polymeric precursors that are specifically optimized for rocket engines within Aerojet's NTP space technology program.For the proposed effort, NanoSonic, the University of Washington and Aerojet have created an SBIR research team to rapidly identify, optimize and transition next-generation polymer derived rare earth silicate coatings specifically optimized to extend the operational utility of NTP rocket thrust chambers and nozzles. Within this teaming partnership, NanoSonic will continuously synthesize and optimize rare earth polymeric precursor coatings whereas the University of Washington will test coated nickel-chromium based alloys within flow conditions simulating NTP rocket exhaust. ANSYS thermal modeling will be employed to interpret and jointly optimize promising rare earth silicate coatings with Aerojet."
"VOC-Free, Highly Flame Resistant HybridsilTM Insulation Coatings for Next Generation Thermal Insulation and Energy Efficiency",EP-D-13-046,EPA,EPA,SBIR,2013,2,300000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,,(540) 626-6762,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vince Baranauskas,,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"NanoSonic’s Hybridsil® insulative coatings provide a paradigm-breaking alternative to spray-deposited polyurethane foams by affording comparable insulation yet without any of the health and safety concerns associated with diisocyanate derived foams. NanoSonic designed and optimized its next-generation, green-certified Hybridsil® insulative foam to provide drastically enhanced fire resistance, thermal resilience, environmental durability, and rapid spray depositability with no free isocayantes. NanoSonic’s Hybridsil® foams gracefully convert to flexible silicates with negligible smoke toxicityto insulate underlaying substarates and prevent flame spread, unlike current SPFs that provide solid fuel to a structural fire while emitting highly toxic smoke. In fact, compared to current state-of-the-art SPF, NanoSonic’s Hybridsil® foams provide a 1,250% improvement in time to ignition and a4,165% improvement in dimensional integrity durability under a 50kW/m2 heat flux. Equally important, independent extended emission analysis completed by Materials Analytical Services (MAS) has proven NanoSonic’s optimized Hybridsil® insulative foams are compliant with the performance standard established for low-emitting insulation/sealants under the CDPH Standard Method Version 1.1, which provides the benchmark criteria adopted in green building programs such as Green Globes, LEED and the Collaborative for High Performance Schools. To achieve this, Hybridsil® employs environmentally and health friendly reagents instead of airborne diisocyanates that lead to numerous deleterious health consequences including chronic respiratory disease, chronic bronchitis, asthma, skin allergies and irritation. R-value determination indicates that optimized systems have thermal conductivities comparable to current state-of-the-art open cell polyurethane foams (3to 4) while still providing the aforementioned performance advantages at a competitive cost of $0.50 to $0.70/ft2. The principal objective of the proposed Phase II SBIR program is to create a Phase III transition brige into residential and commercial insulation applications through elevated R value performance (4-7) and larger scale performance validation including full room insulation, spraying and fire testing qualification. In that vein, NanoSonic will work with the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, Southwest Research Institute, and MAS to provide full-scale testing demonstrations that will provide a catalyst for near term commercial transition. Further, NanoSonic will work with its local government officials in Giles County, VA to insulate a number of government buildings with Hybridsil® Insulative Foam in an endeavor that is both an extension of the technical effort and an invaluable market opportunity."
Time-Temperature Superposition for Predicting Reliability of Age-Sensitive BMDS Parts,HQ0147-13-C-7510,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,100000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,PI,(540) 626-6266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,"The useful lifespan of emerging state-of-the-art materials, or legacy materials that remain dormant within complex missile systems for long periods, are often unknown when actual lifetime service data is not available. This leads to unreliability, limitations on advancing system technology, and unnecessary maintenance. In support of the MDA""s Stockpile Reliability Program, NanoSonic offers our expertise in developing master curves for viscoelastic BMDS components as a proven systematic approach to accelerated aging testing for long-term durability predictions. Arrhenius time-temperature superposition (TTS) measurements will be conducted to predict the service life for polymer materials and electronic parts within current missile systems. During Phase I, feasibility of predicting the shelf-life of polymer missile parts shall be established by conducting real time aging testing in conjunction with accelerated aging studies to build confidence in the TTS shift curve results. A systematic approach to documenting system status, predicting system failures, and determining expiration dates of inactive parts shall be conveyed to the MDA during Phase II. This approach shall then be utilized on complex payloads and verified relative to naturally aged components. TRL 9 shall be achieved upon successful reliability assessments that reduce unnecessary costly inspections of multifaceted military and commercial systems."
HybridSil Anticorrosion Coatings for RMS Tow Cables,N00024-13-P-4579,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,80000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vincent Baranauskas,VP of Polymer Science&E,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"The objective of this Phase I SBIR program is to develop and qualify a next-generation HybridSil anticorrosion coating that provides robust, long-term corrosion protection to the Remote Minehunting System (RMS) tow cable within demanding marine environments. The proposed HybridSil anticorrosion coatings will be molecularly engineered specifically for Nitronic 50 and unlike current state-of-the-art anticorrosion coatings, have the capability of withstanding extreme flexing, abrasion, and seawater flow operations. Importantly, the proposed template inorganic copolymer has undergone extensive corrosion qualification (ASTM G44, GM 9540P, ASTM B117, ASTM G67, ASTM G66), demonstrated self-cleaning characteristics within actual marine environments, revealed exceptional UV durability (ASTM G154 and G155), and is currently undergoing sea trials on a combat active U.S. Navy vessel within the Atlantic fleet. Building from this extensive technical foundation, NanoSonic will augment its HybridSil anticorrosion technology for protecting Nitronic 50 stainless steel cables from harsh corrosive and abrasive damage within simulated RMS environments. A statistical design of experiments including rigorous corrosion, abrasion, mechanical, and environmental testing will be employed to down-select Phase I optimized systems. Transition success is ensured through multiple Phase III transition partners and an established pilot scale HybridSil manufacturing infrastructure."
"Non-Parasitic, High Strength-to-Weight Ratio, EM Immune, Flexible Aramid Composite Conduit",FA8650-13-M-5038,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,PI,(540) 626-6266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: NanoSonic has recently developed high-strength-to-weight ratio, flexible, para-aramid modified fiber composites that mitigate corrosion and provide EMI shielding under severe mechanical strain over a temperature range of -145°C to 450°C. Our Kevlar based composites can be formed and seamed to maintain EM immunity in product lengths currently up to 100"". These tough materials are offered herein as non-parasitic, cable shielding to improve the RF performance and save several pounds of weight per yard relative to current over-braiding wires, foil wraps, and metal conduit. The EMI SE of Metal Rubber modified Kevlar is equal to that for a 2 mm thick copper plate and nearly double that for an EMI shielding commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product over 4 18 GHz. The proposed materials have an areal density of 0.008 g/cm2, resist acids, are nickel and silver-free to mitigate galvanic corrosion, and survive anticipated vibration and mechanical loads associated with standard transport aircraft flight profiles. NanoSonic shall form composite conduit utilizing our HybridSil Anti-Corrosion polymer matrix resins and Metal Rubber modified Kevlar as filled and pre-preg based composites for use as cable shields compatible with both composite and aluminum enclosures for demonstration against narrow and wideband HPM sources. BENEFIT: NanoSonic would primarily develop Metal Rubber modified Kevlar based composites as a super lightweight cable shielding alternative to heavy metal over-braiding, metal foils and other parasitically attached shielding structures. The innovative super lightweight nanocomposites would be primarily transitioned to protect cables within aircraft against harsh EM environments including High Power Microwave (HPM) and Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). The HPM hardened composite conduit shall be later transitioned to dual use domestic applications in commercial aircraft and specific DoD systems. Metal Rubber Kevlar composites shall serve a broad range of military and civilian applications including avionic and communication systems on board commercial aircraft from personal electronic devices and stray radar energy. Dual-use military applications for various forms of Metal Rubber nanocomposites include highly mechanically robust EMI and radiation shielding appliques. Additional applications include biomimetric systems, thermal control system materials, actuators, lightning strike protection, RF shielding for large area structures and sensors."
Geometrically Conformal Multi-Layer Selective Frequency Shielding Materials,FA8650-13-M-5028,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Richard Claus,PI,(540) 626-6266,roclaus@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: The objective of this program is to develop structurally conformal materials with frequency-selective radio frequency (RF) transmission and shielding properties for military aircraft. Materials that allow RF transmission at sensing/communication frequencies while enabling broadband electromagnetic shielding outside of these frequencies are useful for both RF operations and survivability. NanoSonic will design, fabricate and experimentally measure the selective RF transmission properties of multi-layer materials with spatially-structured electromagnetic properties. Early NanoSonic research has demonstrated frequency-selective notch RF filter and resonant frequency filtering behaviors in such multi-layer materials. We will build on those initial experimental demonstrations to design, fabricate and test materials with arbitrary frequency-selective passband and stopband properties. This will allow us to establish the design relationship between the physical structure and the material properties of such materials, and their frequency-dependent RF shielding behaviors. We will also consider methods whereby the passband of the material may be actively""opened""to allow communication and sensing, and then""closed""to reduce RCS to as low a value as possible. During Phase I NanoSonic would work with the current supplier of custom RF shielding materials, and the RF system group at a major U.S. aircraft manufacturer to evaluate and test developed materials. BENEFIT: EMI shielding materials are used to block unwanted electromagnetic fields from interfering with the operation of electrical and electromagnetic systems. Most EMI shielding materials exhibit uniform shielding as a function of frequency. Materials developed through this program would provide selective EMI shielding versus frequency, and would thus be useful to block specific sources of RF noise or permit low-loss transmission at specific frequencies to permit communication. Such materials would be of use in military and non-military communication systems, consumer and industrial RF and electronic systems, and personal portable communication electronic devices such as cell phones, pads and platforms. Examples include shielding paints and coatings, gaskets, tape, cable and connector shielding, windows, enclosures and radomes."
"Encapsulation Approaches for Flexible Solar Panels, Displays, and Antennas",FA8650-13-M-5035,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Michelle Berg,PI,(540) 626-6266,mberg@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: NanoSonic, Inc. researchers have developed an innovative material technology called HybridSil which can be tailored to minimize the vulnerability of flexible electronic devices to environmental threats commonly encountered during military use. NanoSonic will apply our HYBRIDSIL Solar materials to flexible solar cells to demonstrate environmental protection, ease of application and minimal impact on the packaged weight of the target system BENEFIT: HybridSil flexible, environmentally protective coating technology will allow optimized performance of flexible photovoltaic solar cells used for any solar energy technology application. Flexible solar cells and conformal antennas could potentially be integrated into personal electrics, clothing, windows and curved structures."
Coating Existing Concrete Barriers to Reduce Rollover Potential,DTRT57-13-C-10051,DOT,DOT,SBIR,2013,2,1000000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vincent Baranauskas,Chief Technology Officer,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"The objective of this DoT SBIR program is to further establish the technical foundation of low friction HybridSil® Slippery Overturn Automobile Protection (SOAP) coatings on concrete barriers for drastic reductions in vehicle rollover potential and significantly increased concrete impact durability thus, enabling the rapid commercial integration of these coatings. To meet this challenge, NanoSonic has molecularly engineered its pioneering HybridSil® technology to reduce the surface friction of concrete barriers through the selective surface enrichment of self-leveling, low surface energy copolymer domains during the initial phase of this project. Importantly, all of the proposed Phase I technical milestones were achieved during the base Phase I DoT SBIR project. Of critical significance to vehicular impact reduction and increased concrete survivability, NanoSonic worked with National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC) Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) employees to successfully complete multiple concrete barrier pendulum impact tests on Phase I optimized coatings at the FOIL facility. The success of these tests combined with computer simulations of full vehicle impacts with both uncoated and coated New Jersey shape concrete barriers, also performed during Phase I, underscore the exceptional impact durability and friction reducing capability necessary for reducing vehicle roll-over potential upon barrier impact."
EM Tailored Thoraeus Rubber for SATCOM Sensors with Enhanced Survivability,FA9453-13-M-0171,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Jennifer Lalli,PI,(540) 626-6266,jhlalli@nanosonic.com,"ABSTRACT: NanoSonic has developed ultra-lightweight (0.008 g/cm2), Thoraeus Rubber (TR) that demonstrate EMI shielding up to -100 dB from S-band (2 GHz) through Ka-band (40 GHz) and protection against nuclear ionizing radiation. Sub-GHz measurements are underway to demonstrate TR as a shielding replacement for copper. Current TR materials are based on thin films produced via self-assembly manufacturing techniques utilizing graded atomic number (Z) nanoparticles on space resistant fiber carriers. For this program, NanoSonic proposes to transfer this unique EM hardening technique to carbon nanotube and metasurfaces to further develop materials with both tunable and multiple controlled constitutive properties (permeability, permittivity, and conductivity). NanoSonic offers uniquely EM tailored TR nanocomposites herein as a simple and cost effective material solution to assure electronics survivability in Satellite Communications (SATCOM) and space-based Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) against harsh natural or manmade EM environments. EM performance as a function of mass density shall be demonstrated (80 dB at 1GHz) for a family of TR materials relative to COTS products according to MIL-STD-188-2 to achieve TRL 5. Modeling and simulation shall be carried out to predict and demonstrate EM tunability via wave permeation through controlled reflectivity, transmissivity, and absorptivity. BENEFIT: NanoSonic would primarily develop Thoraeus Rubber hybrid nanocomposites as cost effective, super lightweight, EM tailored materials for assured sensor operation on SATCOM and ISR systems that are susceptible to long term and prompt radiation events. The innovative super lightweight nanocomposites would be primarily transitioned to space systems deployed in LEO and hostile EM environments that must survive ionizing radiation or a HEMP. TR readily-integratable electronics protection (EP) nanocomposites shall serve a broad range of military and civilian applications including avionic and communication systems on board commercial aircraft from personal electronic devices and stray radar energy. Dual-use military applications for various forms of Metal Rubber nanocomposites include highly mechanically robust EMI and radiation shielding appliques. Additional applications include biomimetric systems, thermal control system materials, actuators, lightning strike protection, RF shielding for large area structures and sensors."
Self Assembled Nanocluster Based Photo Detectors,N68335-13-C-0184,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,600000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Hang Ruan,PI,(540) 626-6266,hruan@nanosonic.com,"The Navy Phase II SBIR program would transition self-assembled nanocluster based photodetectors from their current concept and prototype stage to standardized large area packaged products. During this program, NanoSonic has proved the technical feasibility of our initial scientific hypothesis. NanoSonic and our Virginia Tech partners have demonstrated that: 1) metal nanoparticles can be used to improve the conversion efficiency of photo detectors, and 2) more efficiency enhancement can be achieved by engineering the frequency selective surface (FSS) antenna structures. During this Navy Phase II program, NanoSonic will focus on improving the efficiency of the photo detectors via the following four areas: 1) higher light collection efficiency, 2) higher charge separation efficiency, 3) higher charge transportation efficiency and 4) broadband tandem configuration. NanoSonic will optimize the nanocluster based photodetector design by integrating a frequency selective surface (FSS) structure with a semiconductor active layer to achieve high efficiency. Quantum dot (QD) and metal nanoparticle precursors that can be used to achieve SPR enhancement in photo detection will be designed and synthesized. NanoSonic will work with support from the Virginia Tech microelectronics laboratory to fabricate and characterize optical antenna devices on the nanometer scale. We will further improve the nanocluster photodetector through active layer optimizations including silicon on oxide (SOI) nanomembranes and QD heterojunctions. Broader system integration will be investigated including using the use of Metal RubberTM, HybridsilTM and other nanocomposites as interconnects and spatially-patterned electromagnetic metamaterials. NanoSonic would work with partners to analyze Phase II results and develop a Phase III product manufacturing, sales and distribution plan."
Self-Healing HybridSil Anticorrosion Coatings for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft,N68335-13-C-0245,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,600000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,(540) 626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Vincent Baranauskas,VP of Polymer Science&E,(540) 626-6266,vince@nanosonic.com,"Through NAVAIR SBIR funding, NanoSonic has created an innovative self-healing HYBRIDSIL Anti-Corrosion coating that instantly repairs itself after abrasion, laceration, and puncture damage. This innovative system consists of a chemically engineered HYBRIDSIL Anti-Corrosion copolymer matrix containing self-healing polymeric nanocapsules that dissipate VOC-free, non-toxic fluidic oligomers that, upon rupture, instantly heal scratches and cuts. Importantly, this technology will provide significant long-term cost savings and operational efficiency gains by drastically reducing the amount of time invested by ground crews inspecting and repairing aerospace topcoat damage. Additionally, optimized coatings will provide improved environmentally durability over current state-of-the-art MIL-PRF-85285 coatings while seamlessly integrating within existing spray, paint, and roll-on equipment. The principal objective of the proposed Phase II SBIR program is to establish a Phase III transition bridge for entry of NanoSonic's self-healing HybridSil anticorrosion coatings within multiple DoD aviation platforms. The primary driver for this transition will be the drastically enhanced operational efficiency and lowered the maintenance cost of self-healing HybridSil topcoats over currently employed MIL-PRF-85285 paints."
Solar Powered Colony Health Monitoring System for Pollinators,2013-00426,USDA,USDA,SBIR,2013,1,100000.00,"NanoSonic, Inc.",158 Wheatland Drive,,Pembroke,VA,-,No,No,No,Melissa Campbell,CFO,540-626-6266,mcampbell@nanosonic.com,Theodore Distler,PI,540-626-6266,tdistler@nanosonic.com,"This project will provide researchers a valuable tool to better learn about bees in almost any enviornment. The self contained power through PV panels will allow these hives to be used without the need to an outside powersource. Researchers can monitor stationary hives, as well as commercial pollination operations. Apiarists can also use these hives to gather data and monitor their own colonies. The hives will allow them to learn about the health of their hive, better productivity methods, and colony cycles within their local enviornment."
"SBIR Phase I: PowERazor: an Innovative Electronic Packaging Technology for Manufacturing High-reliability, High-density Power Electronics Modules",1315429,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"NBE Technologies, LLC",2200 Kraft Drive,Suite 1425,Blacksburg,VA,24060-6356,No,No,No,David Berry,,5404439297,dwberry@nbetech.com,David Berry,,5404439297,dwberry@nbetech.com,"This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of an electronic packaging technology for manufacturing power electronics modules that are critical for electrical energy processing in a wide range of systems, such as hybrid or electric vehicles, renewable energy generators, and the power grid. Recent advances in power semiconductor devices and substrate technology require packaging schemes which optimize the performance of each component for further increases in reliability, density, and high-temperature performance. The best route for meeting this need is to explore three dimensional package architectures which have previously been a barrier for manufacturing using solder techniques. This project will build on the commercialization success of a nanomaterial technology for device interconnection, to develop and implement an innovative three dimensional package architecture which can be force cooled equally well from both sides. The nanomaterial, which already boasts significant increases in thermal and electrical conductivity, is known to provide high reliability and high temperature joints for device interconnection. In addition, processing requirements can be tailored to significantly simplify fabrication of architectures which are difficult to create using existing solder and epoxy connection schemes. Utilizing the processing benefits of the nanomaterial die attachment, the specific technical objectives are: (1) development of a manufacturable process with the nanomaterial for fabricating the planar power modules; (2) testing of the modules under applied continuous current; and (3) evaluation of the module reliability under temperature/power cycling tests and (4) characterization of failure mechanisms. The double-side cooled planar power module technology enabled by the nanomaterial would lead to a highly competitive product in the market place. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project would strengthen United States? manufacturing base in the field of power electronics. Power electronics modules are the central processing units for electrical energy conversion and are crucial to the nation?s economy and security. Energy applications, specifically those that provide independence from petroleum, require more efficient conversion of electrical power, and demand for reliability and sustainability of the nation?s power infrastructure requires an increasingly greater number of electrical conversions. Currently, the market of power electronics modules is dominated by products made in Europe and Asia. Successful commercialization of the technology developed in this project would usher in a competitive US manufacturer of power modules to the growing power electronics market. The success would further strengthen commercialization effort of the nanomaterial product developed under a NSF STTR program and directly translate to economic growth for Southwest Virginia. Success of this program would also serve as a good educational and business model for transferring fundamental knowledge developed under NSF?s support into the commercial world. It would present students an ideal case study to experience technological and economical impacts of their research activities."
EDL Sensor Suite,NNX13CP30P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124747.00,"OPTICAL AIR DATA SYSTEMS, LLC",10781 James Payne Court,,Manassas,VA,20110-2042,Yes,No,No,Karyn Kraft,Business Manager,7033930754,kkraft@oads.com,Elizabeth Dakin,Principal Investigator,7033930754,bdakin@oads.com,"Optical Air Data Systems (OADS) L.L.C. proposes a LIDAR based remote measurement sensor suite capable of satisfying a significant number of the desired sensing requirements in a compact, lightweight, and extremely power efficient form factor. OADS all-fiber optic LIDAR and Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) technology is capable of measuring precise height above ground, ground speed, ground drift, range-gated relative winds, ambient temperature, as well as ambient pressure through the entire entry and descent phase of the spacecraft. Unlike other LIDAR solutions that would require imaging around or through the aeroshell, OADS patented LDV solutions can directly measure a range map of the terrain while simultaneously providing surface relative velocity information for navigation near the ground. OAD LDV solutions include a remote wind sensor capable of measuring wind information at multiple distances ahead of the spacecraft during the entry and descent phases. Once descent is complete, the sensor can be used on the ground to collect local environmental data (including surface winds) as advance information for the fetch rover, the planetary ascent vehicle, and for future missions."
Distributed REMD Simulation for Probing Alzheimer Molecular Mechanisms,1R41AG044022-01A1,HHS,HHS,STTR,2013,1,298026.00,"PARABON COMPUTATION, INC.",11260 ROGER BACON DRIVE,SUITE 406,RESTON,VA,20190-,No,No,No,Paula G. Armentrout,,703-689-9689,paula@parabon.com,Dmitri K. Klimov,,703-993-8395,dklimov@gmu.edu,DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE:
Integrated Visualization Environment for Science Mission Modeling,NNX13CP36P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124740.00,Phoenix Integration,1715 Pratt Drive,Suite 2000,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Robin Campbell,Controller,5409617215,rcampbell@phoenix-int.com,Peter Menegay,Research Manager,5405577556,pmenegay@phoenix-int.com,"The proposed work will provide NASA with an integrated visualization environment providing greater insight and a more intuitive representation of large technical data sets. Engineering framework tools now provide a new level of integration with systems engineering, high fidelity computation, mission modeling, and collaborative infrastructures. Innovative visualization technology is required to represent the larger and more complex outputs generated by these frameworks. Our proposed solution will address these issues by developing a visualization environment designed from the start to handle extremely large data sets and providing greater flexibility in terms of the graphical output types that can be produced. This work will involve the use of software technology to parallelize operations, use the GPU, improve memory allocation, and use modern libraries such as OpenGL for efficient rendering. Algorithms to study the ""white space"" in trade spaces and extend Pareto frontiers into these blank areas will be included. New data mining and clustering algorithms for obtaining insight into complex data sets, involving many parameters, will be built into the visualizer. Features to interact with the underlying computational model (in ModelCenter) and change it easily to observe its effect on the visualized output will be provided. A representative example will be created as a means of demonstrating the new features to NASA and industry. The example will incorporate several new framework technologies (MBSE, mixed fidelity modeling, etc.) and show how the new visualization environment complements these. The new visualizer will be incorporated and commercialized within ModelCenter as a plug-in alongside existing visualization environments."
A Framework for Model Based Decision Making,FA9453-13-M-0176,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149964.00,Phoenix Integration,1715 Pratt Drive,Suite 2000,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Robin Campbell,Controller,(540) 961-7215,rcampbell@phoenix-int.com,Andy Ko,Application Engineer,(540) 961-7215,ako@phoenix-int.com,"ABSTRACT: This proposal seeks to provide a software framework by which a decision maker can participate in complex systems design. It involves building on an already developed engineering integration and trade study tool (ModelCenter) paired with a SysML environment (e.g. MagicDraw or Rhapsody). The new features will include the auto-generation of user interfaces for decision support as well as the ability to compose new architectures automatically. In particular, easy to use""dashboard""visualization techniques will allow decision makers of various interests to better understand the significance of parameter changes within complex systems and thus aid in communication and design evaluation. The system capabilities will be based on a Core Architecture Model (CAM) for Air Force ISR satellite constellation systems. Tasks will include creating a representative satellite system model, formulating the infrastructure for decision support including auto-generator user interface tools, developing satellite architecture generation techniques, and applying the technology to representative Air Force and industry problems. Although the tool-suite will be tailored specifically to satellite systems in this work, it will be based on a generic infrastructure that can be applied to any complex system development program. BENEFIT: Benefits include improved communication between stakeholders, better decision making, and a more explicit understanding of the effects of engineering constraints on overall cost, schedule, and risk for new systems. These are based on a rigorous, model-based connection between system decisions and actual engineering computations, traceability and documentation of changes that are made, and communication of engineering results back up the chain of command to the decision maker. These capabilities couple decision makers with engineers, enabling more precise and informed architecture decisions within and between complex systems. Although the capability will be developed for Air Force satellite constellation systems, the advantages are readily applicable to any complex system design project, military or commercial. The same need to improve the link between engineers and various communities of decision makers exists whether the project involves military acquisition or commercial global competitiveness. This is a timely topic given the expansion of model based systems technology and the need to incorporate additional economic and life-cycle considerations into all design processes."
Deep Vector Sensor System,N68335-13-C-0110,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,147204.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Mike Mullen,Principal Investigator,(717) 938-4433,mmullen@progeny.net,"The US Navy has a requirement for a Reliable Acoustic Path A-sized sonobuoy system. The major challenge is to reduce sensor electronic noise to exploit the environment. Additionally, A-size introduces numerous technical challenges for flow and vertical motion induced noise mitigation, for data telemetry, and for packaging. Progeny Systems Corporation teamed with UnderSea Sensor Systems, Inc. proposes to develop an innovative Deep Vector Sensor sonobuoy based on single crystal vector sensor technology. Single crystal sensing elements offers a wide frequency range in a compact size with low power consumption, and our low-noise analog signal conditioning and compensation microcircuitry can meet the noise requirements. Our sonobuoy concept features a decoupled drifting sensor module with passive buoyancy compensation that deploys after descent to near the ocean bottom in up to 6km water; up to a one hour deployment sequence. Precision wound fiber optic cable provides telemetry, with suspension to buffer vertical wave-induced motion. A modified upper electronics assembly serves as communications gateway to the aircraft. Our Phase I effort will design and demonstrate feasibility for the vector sensor, design and model the drifting sensor module, and develop the high level buoy design. Phase I option will fabricate and test the sensor."
Cost-Effective Technologies for Fabrication of PiezoCrystal Vector Velocity Sensors,N00014-13-M-0030,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149473.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Dave Baird,Principal Investigator,(801) 359-4566,dbaird@progeny.net,"Arrays of vector velocity sensors provide major system gains over legacy arrays of omnidirectional hydrophones in bottom moored and submarine/unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) towed applications. For example, the left-right ambiguity of legacy devices is eliminated and an array sensitivity null can be steered at a noisy source of interference making much quieter targets detectable. The exceptionally sensitive, compact accelerometers made possible by the new relaxor piezocrystals are the key enabler for this performance enhancement. Since these sensors are only millimeters in size and are required in large numbers, a major technical hurdle for this technology is to devise cost-effective ways to manufacture the vector sensor. A cost model, relating the component and touch labor costs, is needed for the various design options. Once the dominant cost drivers have been identified, approaches to reducing costs, either through reducing component or labor costs, are essential if the Navy is to benefit from the new technology. A variety of accelerometer designs are under development for these vector velocity sensors, for example, cantilevered-beams, shear-mode, and pressure-gradient devices. While acoustic performance is the primary driver in the choice of device configuration, cost will ultimately determine the acquisition choice."
Compact High-Power Broad-Band Spherical PiezoCrystal Acoustic Source for Countermeasures,N00014-13-M-0014,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79265.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Jim Powers,Principal Investigator,(801) 359-4566,jpowers@progeny.net,"Acoustic countermeasures, deployed from ships and submarines, serve as decoys by mimicking the acoustic signature of the vessel. These autonomous devices require a highly efficient, high-power, broadband, compact acoustic source to achieve their goals. The combination of the most effective acoustic radiator design (i.e., a sphere) and the new high-coupling, high-strain relaxor piezocrystals provides an optimum combination to meet these exacting requirements. The technical challenge is to devise a cost-effective method of making a tiled approximation to a sphere. Other issues to be addressed, primarily by modeling, include specifically the actuation mode (d31 or d33) of the crystals, whether a fully active tiling is appropriate or whether some passive tiles should be included, and the implications of these choices for the drive electronics. In these applications both cylindrically and spherically shaped sources made from legacy piezoceramics have been employed with good results. Segmented cylinders of the relaxor piezocrystals provide a dramatic enhancement over the legacy piezoceramic cylinders, matching their acoustic performance in a package one hundredth the size requiring only half the energy. A tiled sphere (like a soccer ball) of piezocrystals will provide a similar step improvement over legacy piezoceramic technology."
"Expendable Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (ExCTD)",N00024-13-P-4555,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79767.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,John Thornton,Principal Investigator,(858) 715-1203,jthornton@progeny.net,"Progeny will design the Expendable Real Time Conductivity, Temperature and Depth Sensor (ExCTD) using our proven approach of incorporating Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) sensors into a low cost expendable undersea buoyancy driven device. ExCTD will be launched from the submarine, notionally from the 3""launcher, ascend toward the surface while taking measurement and then change buoyance near the surface to descend while still providing real time data. Real time telemetry is provided to the submarine over a two wire communications driven by RS 485 communications architecture. A prototype will be built in Phase I based upon previous research and significant experience with deployable systems prototyping. The prototype will be in water tested to determine the effectives of the design and provide a basis for engineering changes for the Phase I Option where another prototype will be built and tested. The expendable nature of the device requires a low cost approach, and as such a detailed Bill of Materials will be developed, part costs will be estimated and the higher cost parts will have cost reduction approaches applied. Progeny is uniquely qualified to perform this research based upon previous design and experience with all aspects of the ExCTD."
Low Noise Torpedo Power Supply,N00024-13-P-4572,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79633.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Geoff Short,Principal Investigator,(401) 846-0111,gshort@progeny.net,"The MK48 Heavyweight Torpedo broadband sonar system performance is limited by the current power supplies used to power to the electronics in the torpedo. The broadband sonar system cannot operate to its full potential due to noise and ripple from these power supplies. Progeny Systems will leverage our extensive experience gained from our development and manufacture of low-noise power supplies, such as the Progeny designed Power Regulator Module (PRM) used in the MK54 Lightweight Torpedo, to develop concepts and solution for the MK48 Low-noise power supply. During Phase I, Progeny Systems will demonstrate the feasibility of our concept and approach by establishing performance goals based on the Navy requirements that will be verified by testing and analytical modeling. The re-designed power supply will have an input voltage of 275 VDC and will perform a DC to DC conversion to generate low output voltages from 3.3 VDC to 28 VDC with an output noise less than 0.15mVrms/rtHz and will be capable of providing an output power of approximately 1275 watts. The power supply shall reside in a volume of 225 cubic inches and weigh less than 13 lbs."
Shipboard Software Deployment Tools for Complex Heterogeneous Systems,N00024-13-P-4587,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79713.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Jim Covington,Principal Investigator,(860) 449-1273,jcovington@progeny.net,"Naval Combat Systems have evolved into complex systems, based on networked collections of heterogeneous software from different vendors. As a result of these efforts, combat systems have become a pinnacle of complexity in terms of software deployment activities. This issue is exacerbated when ships force personnel who are charged with the operation and maintenance of these systems do not possess the same levels of expertise and skill that the software vendors utilize when delivering software to a platform. When these factors are combined together in a casualty or outage situation onboard a vessel, it results in a real loss in ship capability and operational readiness. The solution that Progeny Systems will deploy to address these software deployment challenges will integrate our existing strategies and strengths in the end-user minimal concept, paired with an innovative software framework that provides tools and libraries to streamline the software deployment process. The software framework will be packaged into a standard hardware product for delivery, drawing on a couple of feasible, innovative strategies for software deployment. The system will be designed with an open architecture both in hardware and software, which provisions the solution to be extensible and scalable to other technologies, platforms and projects."
Shipboard SW Deployment Tools for Complex Heterogeneous Systems,N00024-13-P-4588,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79513.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Kevin Brown,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,kbrown@progeny.net,"Our approach toward the successful completion of the task is to design a best of breed software management architecture that addresses innovative techniques for the Install, Activate, and Deactivate activities. Install activity covers the transfer from producer to consumer and the installation at the consumer site. Activate and Deactivate cover initialization and shutdown of the software, respectively. We will leverage USW-DSS tools and processes such as Install Anywhere packages, patch manager, backup manager and reinstallation scheme. Additionally, our solution will leverage Universal Gateway Bulk Data Transfer components and NSSN Shipboard Monitoring System (NSMS). We will develop a prototype and CONOPS-type white paper for deployment usage."
"Shock Tolerant, Solid State, Submersible, Emergency Transmitter",N00024-13-P-4020,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79780.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,George Anderson,Principal Investigator,(508) 828-9800,ganderson@progeny.net,"The Navy has identified the need for an improved and reduced cost Emergency Buoy Transmission System for the Ohio Class Submarine Replacement Program. Challenging reliability, maintainability, environmental, cost, and space weight and power (SWaP) objectives require innovations in several key design areas. To meet these requirements, Progeny will design a cost effective, highly shock survivable, and compact Class E amplifier assembly to replace the current system. Our focus for this effort will be to design a compact transmitter that can reliably survive the extreme environments (including shock levels exceeding 4000 g""s) experienced by this safety critical system. Our transmitter assembly will incorporate modernized electronics, innovate and compact packaging (such as embedded components), robust shock hardening, and efficient thermal management strategies. Incorporation of new technologies will improve mission performance and increase transmit windows due to improved transmitter efficiency. To accomplish these improvements, innovative technology approaches will be identified and detailed electrical and mechanical designs will be developed. This effort will include comprehensive dynamic shock, and thermal Finite Element Analyses of the transmitter assembly"
Check Range Sensor Pod,N00014-13-P-1085,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79358.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Mike Mullen,Principal Investigator,(717) 938-4433,mmullen@progeny.net,"The US Navy has a requirement for a disposable sensor pod to autonomously assess signature levels for in-situ tactical awareness that can be deployed from a submerged submarine utilizing existing platform capabilities. Progeny Systems Corporation proposes to develop an innovative Check Range Sensor Pod to allow ships and submarines to measure underwater magnetic and acoustic radiated signatures at forward sites removed from shore-based fixed monitoring facilities. The expendable pod will be reconfigurable to take measurements at a set depth down to 300 meters. Launched from the submarine, the Check Range Pod deploys a sensor array, tracks its relative position, and maintains a command and control datalink. Upon completion of recording events the submarine retrieves the processed sensor data and the pod scuttles. Our Phase I effort will design and demonstrate feasibility of the magnetic and acoustic sensors, develop data processing algorithms, and develop a high level pod design with deployment and employment operational concepts. Phase I option will develop the Phase II prototype design."
Traffic Prioritization Aligned with Commander's Intent,N00014-13-C-0250,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,497122.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Matt Fisher,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,mfisher@progeny.net,"Proposed effort is focused on effective management of Commander""s Intent, where this intent is a concise expression of the purpose of the operation and the desired end state. In addition, it is supporting intent across multiple operations and missions. Including intent as a quantitative and deterministic input into data exchange operations will have a large positive impact on all aspects of prioritized information sharing, from local and off-platform communications, to data stratification (e.g. combat vs. C4I data types) and transmission methodologies (radio, microwave, satellite)."
Simple Profiler for Official Information Exchange,N66001-13-C-5213,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,728216.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Paul Kessel,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,pkessel@progeny.net,"Progeny proposes the development of a TRACKER prototype: 1) Design an enterprise system for Navy Records and Task Management. Progeny will establish the TRACKER software design by analyzing required functionality, decomposing the system into a set of modular components, and determining component interfaces; 2) Develop a web-based prototype application for a limited set of TRACKER functionality. Progeny will develop a web-based application which supports a subset of the functionality described in the TRACKER Functional Requirements Document (FRD), draft version 0.2. This effort will focus on integrating the Alfresco enterprise content management system and developing a prototype for the Document Management, Tasker Management, Records Management, and Search requirements laid out in the FRD, as this functionality most closely aligns with the Phase I effort and other Progeny software development efforts such as Nosis. 3) Investigate the target Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) / ONE-Net environments and document a plan for integration. Progeny will investigate each target deployment environment for TRACKER and document a plan for integration and certification in each environment. 4) Integrate and test the prototype within a representative NMCI environment. With support from the sponsor, Progeny will integrate and test the Phase II prototype within a representative NMCI environment."
Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) Social Media Analytics Tools,N00014-13-C-0348,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,489715.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Gary Sikora,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,gsikora@progeny.net,"The staggering velocity of digital data creation combined with a shortage of human analytical resources creates a significant demand for automated systems that can efficiently discover, process, and visually display information in an organized manner. Using NLP technology to enable automated discovery, process, and displaying actionable information is the premise of this research topic""s technical approach. The primary capability developed for the first builds of Social Media Analytics Toolkit (SMAT) under the Phase I effort was the automated discovery of real-world disaster related events, and scoring and categorizing them into associated impact categories such as communications, fire, health hazard and infrastructure. The benefits of SMAT""s NLP-based analytics demonstrated during the Phase I effort were to: assist the development of filters; and to quickly drill-down and focus on different impact categories of a disaster. The Phase II plan is to further SMAT development, comprising task groups for: additional requirements collection and refinement, including relevant ones from the IV2 JCTD Operational Requirements, improving capability and performance, incorporating a distributed collaboration environment, componentization and integration into other tools and environments such as TweetTracker and CRAFT, and evaluation verification and validation through participation in real-world HA/DR and experimentation events such as the recent SMT-LOE."
Inertial Measurement Unit for Hypervelocity Projectiles,N00014-13-C-0213,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,742889.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Ed Michna,Principal Investigator,(401) 846-0111,emichna@progeny.net,"Sea Power 21 represents a vision and roadmap for a transformational process which seeks to optimize Naval force employment through integration into joint global operations and align R & D toward specific current and projected warfighter needs. Sea Strike is one of the concepts behind the Sea Power 21 vision. Sea Strike is the ability to project precise and persistent offensive power from the sea and builds upon the asymmetric strengths unique to US Naval forces. Technology now allows Naval forces to decisively engage targets deep inside enemy territory while operating from a remote, secure, mobile afloat base. Electro-magnetic rail guns are one of the key technologies targeted for Future Sea Strike Capability and will contribute in a very measureable way to the ability of the US Navy to execute long range, precise, sustained, time-sensitive, and covert strike missions. Hypersonic guided flight for precision munitions delivery and the related launch survivability for guidance electronics are ONR focus areas. Our proposed shock hardened IMU solution leverages our relevant experience and adapts existing technologies to produce a reliable, compact, cost effective shock hardened and isolation approach for electronic systems subjected to the specific extreme shock environment characteristic of launch from an electromagnetic rail gun."
Text Analytics from Audio,N00014-13-P-1060,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,148846.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Support,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Gary Sikora,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,gjsikora@progeny.net,"Audio transcription, translation and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities are required to automate the extraction of actionable information from foreign language audio files. The problem is that these language processing components are traditionally stand-alone and pipelined together producing accumulative growing word error rates, significantly degrading the level of trust. To overcome the shortfalls of a multi-staged pipelined approach we propose a two stage approach comprised of Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) transcription, then a Foreign Language Analysis (FLA) stage that goes directly from foreign language text to English concept encoded in FrameNet semantic frames. Given the innovation and newness of the FLA approach our proposal focuses on this stage, leveraging internal stages of SYSTRAN""s translation capabilities as commercial device technologies evolve, more and better ASR solutions will be inherent available such as the iPhone Siri and Android Google Voice. The ability to have a single component or app to go directly from these device ASRs to semantic frames will result high levels of trust while easing integration with applications that need to consume actionable information. The plan is to produce 200 Farsi sentences with various tones and noise, use a commercial Farsi ASR and co-develop a Farsi FLA with SYSTRAN."
Common Software Foundation,W15P7T-13-C-A619,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99617.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Support,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Jonathan Felmey,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,jfelmey@progeny.net,"Under the Common Operating Environment (COE) the Army is executing a number of efforts targeting collapse of solutions from dozens of hardware and software foundations to a handful of Computing Environments (CEs). This is being done in order to realize cost savings through reduced redundancy and increase interoperability. Three of those CEs are the Mobile/Handheld, Mounted, and Command Post.. It is the intent of this SBIR to design (and ultimately build) a single foundation that could be utilized across those 3 environments. This single software foundation will leveraged across all 3 domains. The foundation should be flexible enough so that while a common core is utilized across the 3 domains, different user interface components, varying screen sizes, and various states of connectivity (large, limited, no bandwidth) are supported. Additionally, the solution must have an associated Software Development Kit (SDK) that 3rd party groups can leverage to develop solutions."
The use of Self-Managing Software Agents to Improve Application and Network Reliability and Data Accessibility,N66001-13-C-5201,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,739432.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Paul Kessel,Principal Investigator,(703) 368-6107,pkessel@progeny.net,"Non-tactical information systems utilized by Navy commands include substantial amounts of data in support of personnel management, maintenance, operations, and training. However, in today's environment, many of these information systems are closed in nature, which prevents data reuse and limits data accessibility. As a result, rather than interfacing with an existing data store or application, it is often necessary to create and maintain redundant data for each new application. The Relational Administrative Data Management (RADM) application within the NTCSS suite is one such system with limited ability to share data with external applications. One of the desired outcomes outlined in the original N07-064 solicitation was for an open architecture (OA) software solution which could evolve these non-tactical information systems to work more effectively and synergistically to support command tasks, both afloat and ashore. This Phase II.5 effort will result in a RADM open architecture (RADM-OA) prototype with support for a limited set of RADM functional modules, and will serve as the foundation for development of the production RADM-OA system through follow-on efforts."
Embedded Sensors with Low Power Telemetry for Towed Arrays,N00024-13-C-4058,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,387080.00,Progeny Systems Corporation,9500 Innovation Drive,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Christine Sigety,Manager of Business Suppo,(703) 368-6107,csigety@progeny.net,Dave Baird,Principal Investigator,(801) 359-4566,dbaird@progeny.net,"This topic seeks the development of innovative concepts that can increase the number of hydrophones and telemetry channels per unit length while simultaneously achieving a very small form factor (i.e., the length/diameter requirement). This means that the telemetry electronics need to be significantly smaller than current designs. As such, the degree of miniaturization of the diameter and length of the embedded sensor and telemetry should be a significant part of any innovative concept developed."
Ocean Sensor Interface Simulation for Integration Testing,N00024-13-P-4558,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79574.00,"SEDNA DIGITAL SOLUTIONS, LLC","10611 Balls Ford Rd., Suite 300",,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Vince Ferraro,Program Manager,(703) 530-5406,vferraro@sednadigital.com,Dave Welling,Senior Software Engineer,(703) 530-5400,dwelling@sednadigital.com,"Sedna Digital Solutions, LLC (Sedna) has experience in the real world behavior of sensor technology as used in current NAVY combat systems. Sedna proposes to use its knowledge of real world sensor behavior, combat system array interfaces, existing high fidelity simulation, and general combat system test techniques to advance a concept that better matches what a combat system will encounter upon deployment with new or modified sensor arrays. Sedna proposes to optionally move the high fidelity injection point from post array signal conditioning to the array interface point. By making this move and adding real world sensor faults, the combat system will be stressed with real world like stimuli at the system development site. Stimulation at the system development site allows for cost effective repair of undesirable combat system behavior that would eventually have occurred at the installation site or, even worse, at deployment. Furthermore, Sedna proposes the reuse of existing high fidelity and array interface test software. The approach protects and enhances the NAVY""s previous investment in this software."
A Flexible and Extensible Solution to Incorporating New RF Devices and Capabilities into EW/ ISR Networks,W911QX-13-C-0129,DOD,DARPA,STTR,2013,1,99971.00,Shared Spectrum Company,1593 Spring Hill Road,Suite 700,Vienna,VA,-,No,No,No,Mark McHenry,President&CTO,(703) 462-6943,mmchenry@sharedspectrum.com,Filip Perich,Principal Investigator,(703) 761-2818,fperich@sharedspectrum.com,The scientific/technical objective is to develop a language that will allow for seamless insertion of new RF devices and capabilities into EW/ISR networks. We achieve these requirements by employing subject matter experts that include former EW officers
Optimizing the use of atmospheric energy to extend range and endurance of low altitude UAVs and small manned aircraft,W911QX-13-C-0091,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,493202.00,"Simpson Weather Associates, Inc.",809 E. Jefferson Street,,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Mary Morris,Exec. Sec./Trea -- Contra,(434) 979-3571,mvm@swa.com,George D. Emmitt,President and Senior Scie,(434) 979-3571,gde@swa.com,"During Phase I, we documented the feasibility of the AEORA hardware/software system that combines the real-time acquisition of atmospheric data by a small light-weight airborne DWL and potential sensors TBD with a SOTA numerical weather model on-board a small manned aircraft or UAV. The purpose of such a software package is to reduce mission (either military or civilian) dependence upon preflight assumptions, extend flight duration and endurance, and allow for the optimum routing of the aircraft through evolving beneficial conditions and, just as importantly, avoiding detrimental ones. In Phase II, we will continue the design, development, simulation and testing of such a system. The main focus in the Phase II effort will be in the development of robust algorithms for DWL data processing, energy feature detection and ranking, cost function analysis, flight to target guidance, energy utilization and total system management. The AEORA software/hardware system will be tested through numerous simulations and, if possible, on either a small manned aircraft or, perhaps, a UAV such as the Shadow 200."
Active Quiet Pillow,W81XWH-13-C-0105,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99994.00,SMD Corporation,1100 Exploration Way,Suite 302S,Hampton,VA,-,No,No,No,Curtis Mitchell,CEO,(407) 448-0744,cmitchell@smdva.com,Curtis Mitchell,CEO,(407) 448-0744,cmitchell@smdva.com,"In this project we propose to develop, test and demonstrate the potential of an Active Quiet Pillow for reducing interior noise in helicopter medical evacuation scenarios using numerical simulation and experimental testing. The potential of the Pillow design is expected to reduce the interior noise of a Blackhawk MEDEVAC helicopter from 106dB pink noise incident sound down to 90dBA at the patient""s ear. The innovation is based on a strategic combination of active and passive treatment elements in a pillow arrangement located under the patient""s head. In Phase I, numerical finite element models of the Active Quiet Pillow in a helicopter cabin interior will be developed including a modeled active noise system and passive noise treatment. The analysis will incorporate acoustic lining modeled by a surface impedance and the active speakers as baffled pistons embedded in the quiet pillow structure. The effect of the acoustic pillow liner on reducing the mid and high frequencies at the patient""s ears will be studied. Experimental verification of the noise reduction active cancellation will also be demonstrated in laboratory testing. The results will then be used to identify the key elements required for airworthiness testing for use in US Army MEDEVAC and CASEVAC operations."
Remote Interrogator for Munition Recorder Instrument Packages (RIMRIP),FA8651-13-M-0188,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149611.00,SYNTRONICS,3500 Shannon Park Drive,,Fredericksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Albert Lauer,President/CEO,(540) 374-1000,blauer@syntronics.net,Brian Tacke,Senior Principal Engineer,(540) 374-1000,btacke@syntronics.net,"ABSTRACT: Syntronics proposes the development of a shock hardened miniaturized Remote Interrogator which provides two way wireless communication through earth, water, and salt water. The range through these media is anticipated to be significantly greater than 5 meters at a data rate of 50kbits/sec or greater. Two technologies are used simultaneously. Ultra-sound is used for long range communication through water, and RF is used for long range communications through earth. The RF link is autonomously frequency agile in order to provide the maximum coupling with different soil types and moisture contents. BENEFIT: The development of the technology for a Remote Interrogator could be useful for through the earth communications for search and rescue in mines or underwater. The ruggedness, small size, and power consumption of the Remote Interrogator make this technology applicable as a location/communications device to be carried by an individual in danger of being trapped underground, water, ice, or snow, for example, a skier covered by an avalanche, a spelunker trapped in a cave, or a scuba diver trapped under water."
"Prototype, Open-Source, Universal Healthcare Exchange Language",W81XWH-13-C-0038,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,146339.00,"SYSNET International, Inc.",2930 Oak Shadow Drive,,Oak Hill,VA,-,No,No,No,Amy Xie,President,(703) 585-5498,amy.xie@sysnetint.com,Odysseas Pentakalos,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 855-2029,odysseas@sysnetint.com,"Use of information technology within the U.S. healthcare system has made considerable strides forward in the past few years but to fully realize the full benefits of an Electronic Health Record - including higher quality and safety of care through access to the patient""s complete health record at the point of care, increased participation by patients in their healthcare through access to a shared Patient Health Record, considerable advancements in public health and evidence-based treatment, and increased efficiency in the healthcare system, the current interoperability issues must be resolved. The PCAST recently issued a report to the President where they propose that the way forward to realizing the full potential of information technology in healthcare is through the implementation of a Universal Healthcare Language Service. SYSNET International proposes to conduct during Phase I of this SBIR an in-depth study of the recommendations put forward by the PCAST report and produce both, a detailed architecture document of an effective implementation of those recommendations, and a prototype that demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed architecture for a specific domain of health data sharing."
Innovative Method for Wirelessly Powering RFID Tags Located on Rotorcraft,N68335-13-C-0057,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149968.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nagaraja Iyyer,Director of Engineering,(703) 226-4070,niyyer@tda-i.com,"TDA""s research during this SBIR will incorporate the two main types of RFID technology: passive and active RFID systems. During previous research, TDA has shown that passive systems present challenges with respect to effective read range, as well as performance in a metal-rich environment. However, TDA believes that the performance of these systems can be enhanced via beam forming, impedance matching, and back scatter boosting techniques, as well as tag placement optimization. Similarly, TDA has shown that implementation of active tag systems is hindered by large tag form factors as well as undesirable battery maintenance requirements. TDA intends to research alternative means of powering these active tags, such as wireless power transmission. In addition, a major goal of this research will be to design and develop an ultra-low energy, solar powered active tag. By pursuing parallel lines of research in both active and passive technologies, TDA will be able to develop and recommend a complete and optimized system for the unique application of rotorcraft component tracking and sensing."
Rotary Wing Dynamic Component Structural Life Tracking,N68335-13-C-0086,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,1399947.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 237-1300,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nagaraja Iyyer,Director of Engineers/Fal,(703) 237-1300,niyyer@tda-i.com,"United States Navy (USN) program offices have struggled with rotorcraft component history tracking for years, and still spend millions in trying to obtain accurate component history and maintenance information. This is mainly due to records that are kept manually through paperwork systems such as Scheduled Removal Component and Assembly Service Record (SRC and ASR) cards, which are prone to human errors. Because of the lack of reliable component histories, penalties must be imposed when such data cannot be validated. By implementing an electronic record keeping system (eSRC and eASR), point-of-entry data validation will enable highly accurate transaction records to be interrogated instantaneously, world-wide by all stakeholders. The eSRC/eASR system will reduce Total Ownership Costs (TOC) through optimum asset life management and maintenance planning. This also satisfies the USN""s end goal of real-time tracking, gathering complete component usage history to accurately predict the life of each component, and subsequently eliminating penalties imposed due to unknown usage histories. Preserving complete component installation and usage history, along with the implementation of advanced prognostics tools can enable Performance Based Logistics (PBL) as well as Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). TDA proposes an innovative architecture for CBM processing, data visualization, data mining, and prognostics, called HeloTrack."
Innovative Method for Real-Time Damage Alleviation,N68335-13-C-0124,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749976.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Chance McColl,Director of Engineering -,(770) 516-7750,cmccoll@tda-i.com,"Deployment of Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) on rotorcraft has resulted in significant improvements in maintenance action efficiency, increases in safety, and reductions in cost. Current HUMS provide diagnostic and prognostic information to maintenance crews through Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), which allows parts to be replaced on an as-needed basis. This marks an improvement over legacy approaches, which relied on conservative life estimates that resulted in early component retirement due to a lack of accurate component usage data to determine actual component life. HUMS has shown its value over time, yet it is still a passive system that provides no active fatigue damage alleviation. This SBIR effort is focused on the development of a HUMS interface which will automatically reduce the damage on aircraft components in real-time by modifying the control system output, allowing component life to be extended beyond that which has been realized with HUMS alone. In addition, through control system output modification, damage rates on specific components may be tailored to extend the life up to the next scheduled maintenance activity. The development of a system to track the amount of damage occurring on this component allows for optimization of the flight control system output to reduce structural component damage while maintaining the required maneuverability, flying quality, and handling qualities."
Thick Composite Crack Analysis,N68335-13-C-0400,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79987.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nicole Apetre,Senior Aerospace Engineer,(703) 226-4076,napetre@tda-i.com,"Composite materials have emerged as the materials of choice for increasing the performance and reducing the weight and cost of military aircraft. Nevertheless, reliable prediction of composites behavior in both static and cyclic load situations are far from complete, due to limitations of current analysis methods and to uncertainty and statistical variation of composite behavior under a given set of environment and loading exposure. In this SBIR effort, we therefore focus on applying the knowledge gained from classical damage mechanics in a Peridynamics framework - specifically concentrating on manufacturing defects and their impact on the composites performance under a variety of loading conditions. The required analytical expressions are developed in the framework of continuum damage mechanics by suitable micromechanical computations. Lessons learned in this field will be used to model manufacturing defects in Peridynamics. The methodology will be applied to a variety of laminate layups and the predictions will be compared with experiments and independent FE simulations wherever applicable."
Coatings for Alkali Vapor Laser Cavity,HQ0277-13-C-7604,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,999596.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,John D. Wright,Chief Technology Officer,(303) 940-2300,jdwright@tda.com,Michael D. Diener,Principal Chemist,(303) 940-2314,mikee@tda.com,"Diode-pumped alkali laser systems (DPALS) are under development for high-energy laser defense systems due to their extremely high theoretical optical efficiency, efficient thermal management, and comparatively small footprint. However, traditional antireflection coatings for the optics used in the alkali vapor cell of the laser cavity are rapidly destroyed by the harsh chemical environment, creating large optical losses and severely limiting the observed efficiencies. TDA is developing materials that can provide high performance optical coatings while indefinitely surviving both the extremely reactive chemical environment and the intense radiation of the operating laser."
Detecting Crack Nucleation/Damage Mechanisms In Sea-Based Aviation Environments,N00014-13-C-0267,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,746483.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nagaraja Iyyer,Manager of Engineer Servi,(703) 226-4070,niyyer@tda-i.com,"TDA""s Phase II effort will focus on understanding of microstructural damage evolution during pre-crack nucleation, stress field imposition, development of corrosion susceptibility, and role of environment and the material properties and developing methodologies (electrochemical ) for measuring early response on development of stress field and initiation of corrosion sensitive zones. The planned effort will consist of testing to understand the onset and progression of damage, corrosion modeling from first principles and continuum methods, UniCorr software development and prototype sensor development after assessment of tests and detection techniques. TDA""s planned tests will use a set of corroborative NDE techniques to detect crack initiation in corrosive environments. The techniques strongly being considered after Phase I series of tests are ECN, DCPD and LPR. The modeling effort will characterize the corrosion rate from first principles using DFT and KMC techniques as well as continuum models. TDA""s vision is to develop predictive capability for environmentally assisted crack initiation in Navy specific material-environment and loading conditions in UniCorr, an easy to use software capable of simulation studies by incorporating critical laboratory tests and service data, and develop prototype sensors for corrosion monitoring and small crack detection by investigating potential combination of different NDE for damage detection."
Multi-scale Peridynamics Theory for Corrosion Fatigue Damage Prediction,N68335-13-C-0344,DOD,NAVY,STTR,2013,1,79969.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nagaraja Iyyer,Manager of Engineer Servi,(703) 226-4070,niyyer@tda-i.com,"TDA and its University partner, Cornell University, first address the stress assisted corrosion crack growth from concurrent multi-scale modeling through atomistic simulations in order to formulate and calibrate mesoscale Peridynamics model. Initially, the multi-scale CADD simulations will utilize reactive force field potentials for the 7075-T6Al in water to simulate stress corrosion cracking and then extend to study the near threshold crack growth behavior in water. Future efforts will utilize appropriate force field potentials for 7075-T6Al under various NaCl concentrations and also refine crack tip simulations using linearly scaled density functional theory inputs. Peridynamic kernel formulations will be investigated for improvement and calibration using the CADD simulations input and also address issues arising from skin effect near the interface and from horizon length to deal with corrosion. Both model predictions will be verified and validated against a variety of laboratory data. Stress-free model predictions will be compared and contrasted with molecular automata methodologies. Utilizing all work efforts, we will also develop appropriate computational strategies in a hybrid framework."
Combined Analytical and Experimental Approaches to Rotor and Dynamic Component Stress Predictions,N68335-13-C-0160,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749828.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Chance McColl,Director of Engineering -,(770) 516-7750,cmccoll@tda-i.com,"The USN engineering community recognizes the advantages of individual component damage tracking with the goal of enhancing health assessment capabilities. Improving individual aircraft loads/strain predictions is an important focus of this objective. TDA has developed the software tool rotorwiseTM, a method to combine analytical modeling and experimental data to improve the accuracy of predictions for individual blade loads and stresses in dynamic components. Direct loads-based usage tracking for fatigue-critical rotorcraft dynamic components provides insight into the actual load history of the component in question, offers the potential to extend component service life, and allow for part remediation through the acceptance of greater repair limits. It can also prevent unnecessary maintenance actions, such as early component retirement, enhancing mission readiness and reducing maintenance costs. This presents the possibility for significant maintenance cost savings, as well as enhanced awareness of component structural health. rotorwiseTM takes as input a combination of instrumentation, on-board data processing requirements, offline data collection, numerical rotor loads analysis, and fatigue life prediction algorithms. rotorwiseTM supports the USN's end goals for the CH-53K: tracking rotorcraft life in near real-time, gathering complete component loads/usage history, and thereby accurately predicting the life of each system. This eliminates penalties imposed due to unknown usage histories and/or inaccurate/overly-conservative loads prediction."
Innovative Method for Aircraft Gross Weight and Center of Gravity Estimation,N68335-13-C-0099,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,750014.00,"TECHNICAL DATA ANALYSIS, INC.",3190 FAIRVIEW PK DR STE 650,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22042-4530,No,No,No,Scott Bradfield,President,(703) 226-4061,sbradfield@tda-i.com,Nicole Apetre,Senior Engineer,(703) 226-4076,napetre@tda-i.com,"An accurate, automated assessment of helicopter Gross Weight (GW) and Center of Gravity (CG) is critical for the determination of aircraft fatigue and life estimates since GW/CG affect static and dynamic characteristics of helicopters. Therefore GW and CG of a helicopter are valuable information in calculating reliable loads and remaining fatigue life. These in turn will assist the condition based maintenance systems used to enhance safety and reduce the operating cost of helicopters. An automated system for GW and CG will improve aircraft structural life estimation and performance characteristics, will relieve pilot's burden of logging data, and will also improve situational awareness. To capture GW and CG changes continuously throughout the flight, advanced methods are required as conventional methods are not sufficient and prone to errors. Technical Data Analysis, Inc. (TDA) envisions a comprehensive solution based on a combination of physics based (deterministic) models and data driven (stochastic) models. TDA's team believes that combining both methods will overcome each technique limitations and will take advantage of each method's strengths. Therefore TDA's team aims to develop a hybrid system that combines the powerful estimation capabilities of the Kalman Filter (KF) scheme with the strong learning capabilities of the Neural Network (NN)."
Multi-input Multi-output Synthetic Aperture Radar with Collocated Antennas,W911NF-13-C-0038,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,2,320775.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive V.P.&Managing Director,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Howard Mendelson,Principle Scientist,(703) 460-5882,howard.mendelson@tridsys.com,"The enormous effort devoted to the data acquisition, signal processing, and automatic recognition of stationary targets has resulted in a generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems that are meeting the challenge of real-world conditions. However, in a practical battlefield, moving targets may pose a more severe threat than stationary targets. Many high value targets are only vulnerable while they are traveling and are generally invisible while in deep hide. Unfortunately, the attention paid to the ground moving target indication (GMTI) has been limited by the enormous challenges of acquiring and reliably processing the target location and target signatures. Multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar is beginning to attract a significant amount of attention due to its potential of advancing the state-of-the-art of modern radar. Our Phase I effort established the feasibility of an implementable prototype system. The emphasis of this effort is focused on developing a prototype system based on a synergistic MIMO SAR and GMTI design. Herein we propose the design and demonstration of a proof-of-concept MIMO SAR system with collocated antennas for area surveillance, particularly to support urban operations with dynamic complex terrains and potentially moving small targets. The intended platforms are low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles."
Space-Qualifiable Digital Radar Transceiver,NNX13CP15P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124886.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Business Official,7036917794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Albert Burgstahler,Principal RF Engineer,7036917766,alburg@tridsys.com,"Radar technology offers a very flexible, powerful tool for applications such as object detection, tracking, and characterization, as well as remote sensing, imaging, sounding, weather measurement and analysis. Historically, radar systems have tended to be either large, complex, power-hungry, purpose-built systems, or extremely simple systems of limited capability. More recently, miniaturization of high-performance programmable integrated circuit technologies as embodied in field-programmable gate arrays, as well as rapid advances in high-speed data conversion technologies at a gigasample per second and beyond, have enabled the implementation of direct-conversion radio frequency (RF) systems, including radar, that operate almost completely in the digital domain. In addition, solid-state high-power RF device technologies have improved in efficiency and speed to the point where highly efficient pulsed transmit sources are possible. As these device technologies have matured, their application in space environments has accelerated to the point where extremely flexible programmable radar systems can be implemented in a very small size, weight, and power footprint. Trident Systems has developed a powerful radar architecture called RAPTOR, validating it through flight testing on a number of Department of Defense programs; initial analysis has shown the feasibility of transitioning this design to the space environment. Through a comprehensive program of requirements development, trade studies, critical component and design analyses, fault mitigation simulation, and system design, Trident will develop the design for a complete space-qualifiable UHF/L-band radar transceiver in a 96mm x 90mm x 31mm PC-104e form factor that meets all customer mission needs, and is applicable to a wide range of applications (NASA and others). By basing the solution on Trident's proven RAPTOR technology, the system will rapidly achieve a high TRL."
GMTI Data Exploitation For SWAP Limited Radar Systems,FA8650-13-M-1668,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149984.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing Director,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Joseph Hucks,Principal Scientist,(321) 409-5627,joseph.hucks@tridsys.com,"ABSTRACT: Trident Systems Inc. (TSI) and the SAZE Technologies propose to develop algorithms to detect and characterize moving targets on the ground, to be used on SWAP-limited radar systems under development or currently in use on DoD UAV Tier II and lower airborne platforms. Trident proposes to use the Model-Aided Adaptive Processing GMTI algorithm developed by the late Dr. Howard Mendelson, which is a fully adaptive and computationally efficient algorithm that works on a single CPI and does not require training data or covariance matrix estimation. Trident will identify SWAP-limited radar systems currently in use or under development on DoD Tier II and lower UAV platforms, and perform trade studies to develop baseline algorithms that will fit within the SWAP limits. BENEFIT: Ground moving target detection and characterization algorithms have benefits and applications to military, homeland security, counter-drug, border control and law enforcement needs."
"High-Speed, High-Fidelity, Reprogrammable Kernel for Use in Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) Systems and High-Speed Signal Digitization and Proce",N68936-13-C-0116,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,498824.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing D,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Albert Burgstahler,Prin. RF Engineer,(703) 691-7766,alburg@tridsys.com,"Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) systems apply active RF deception by digitizing a received signal and storing a coherent copy in memory that is delayed and retransmitted (in possibly altered form). As digital electronics signal conversion, generation, and processing technologies advance, radar and DRFM designs are increasingly implemented in software/firmware using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that, with high dynamic range RF frequency Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) and Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs), support rapid advances in radar waveforms and DRFM countermeasures. In a Phase I SBIR effort, Trident Systems implemented and demonstrated a fully digital programmable RF kernel that met or exceeded almost all targeted performance metrics, and developed a design for a fully functional high-performance RF kernel suitable for laboratory, field test, or operational use in DRFM, radar, and EW applications. In Phase II of this effort, Trident proposes to complete the development of this RF kernel design, along with supporting software for configuration and programming, and demonstrate & deliver a form-factor multi-channel prototype system."
Amplifier Linearization Module,W15P7T-13-C-A620,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99856.00,Trident Systems Inc.,10201 Fairfax Boulevard,Suite 300,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Bonnie Edwards,Executive VP&Managing Director,(703) 691-7794,bonnie@tridsys.com,Jim Hopkins,Prin. RF Engineer,(703) 267-2306,jim.hopkins@tridsys.com,"Power amplifiers are of crucial importance to the tactical utility of a variety of RF systems. Keeping power amplifiers efficient requires running those amplifiers at or near their saturation point which causes non-linear operation. Non-linear operation causes distortion, unwanted interference and degradation of the communications signal. Reducing the input drive to meet linearity results in decreased efficiency and therefore wasted energy causing increased heat, larger heat sinks, added weight, size and additional power. A unique solution to this problem for properly designed power amplifiers is to use linearizers that""linearize""the input and therefore deliver a more""linear""output so that the amplifier can be driven harder and therefore be more efficient. There are many methods used to""linearize""a signal, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. In this SBIR, Trident proposes to design an automatic linearizer that can be used for a variety of different power amplifiers. The system will provide the capability to adjust input levels to a power amplifier in order to carefully control its operating point while linearizing this signal to improve the overall linearity for a variety of different gain amplifiers."
EOIR Fusion during Ascent Phase for C2BMC,HQ0147-13-C-7416,DOD,MDA,STTR,2013,1,99922.00,"Vectraxx, Inc.",12131 Howards Mill Road,,Glen Allen,VA,-,No,No,No,Darin Dunham,President,(804) 749-8750,darin@vectraxx.com,Darin Dunham,Senior Research Engineer,(804) 519-5480,darin@vectraxx.com,"In this Phase I STTR project for MDA, Vectraxx of Glen Allen, Virginia will address the critical problem of dealing with pre-intercept debris fields and launch family clusters as seen by IR sensors. This is an essential element to the ascent phase component of the MDA""s Ballistic Missile Defense System. The objective of this R & D effort is to characterize pre-intercept debris field and leverage the track-before-detect capability of the Histogram Probabilistic Multi-Hypothesis Tracker (H-PMHT) algorithm to produce advantageous lethal object information to the C2BMC. Our plan is to fuse together information from multiple IR sensors into useful data that fully conveys the battle space. Fusing together multiple-sensor information in an intelligent manner will help overcome the two-dimensional limitations of the passive sensors. These advances will provide earlier and more effective identification and tracking of lethal objects. In Phase I, Vectraxx will demonstrate the value of our family launch cluster tracking with multiple IR sensors. In Phase II, the goal will be to fully test our algorithm implementation with simulated scenarios and recorded ground tests in order to advance the capability to TRL-6."
Terahertz Frequency Spectrometer Combined with Sub-Wavelength Microfluidic Platform,W911NF-13-C-0040,DOD,ARMY,STTR,2013,1,99958.00,VIBRATESS,"104 Chaucer Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22901",,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Tatiana Globus,President,(434) 296-2400,globus@vibratess.com,Tatyana Khromova,Principle Investigator,(434) 296-2400,t.khromova@vibratess.com,"The goal of this project is to design and build a THz-frequency spectrometer prototype with sub-wavelength spatial resolution for use in the spectroscopic and temporal analysis of trace material samples in advanced sensing and monitoring applications. The instrument operating at room temperature will include a periodic-grating microfluidic sampling system with controlled precise sample placement and micro-detector scanning. In Phase I, the complete specification on the instrument functionality and performance capabilities will be generated in close collaboration with scientists at the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center or other active U.S. Army research and development programs that are focused on advanced sensing and monitoring applications. Signal registration circuitry adequate to the state-of-the-art capability for spectroscopic and imaging biological materials characterization analysis will be developed. A computational modeling analysis will be preformed to evaluate and compensate any possible artifacts caused by the periodic-grating and the near-field micro-detector that might interfere with the spectral signatures of the biological, chemical and/or explosive targets. The conceptual design of the instrument and integration procedure will be proposed and evaluated in benchmarking experiments to demonstrate the capability to overcome expected challenges of integrating the full system."
Automated trace gas molecular analyzer using rotational spectroscopy,W31P4Q-13-C-0182,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,99254.00,"Virginia Diodes, Inc.","979 Second Street SE, Suite 309",,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Thomas Crowe,President,(434) 297-3257,Crowe@VADiodes.com,Jeffrey Hesler,Chief Technology Officer,(434) 297-3257,Hesler@VADiodes.com,"VDI and OSU are in a strong position to meet the requirements of this SBIR. Building on a strong foundation of closely related sensor work in the millimeter/submillimeter, we will focus our Phase I efforts on the new challenges of this SBIR topic. The chief new analysis challenge is to provide a list of lines that arise from gases that are not in the spectrometer reference catalog. We have already demonstrated the absolute intensity calibration and well defined lineshapes required for the subtraction and deconvolution that are a necessary foundation for this task. To satisfy these requirements and to broaden the range of applications, we have chosen high spectral purity, frequency agile hardware and configurable software. The hardware design will allow multiple frequency bands and flexible physical configurations. This design uses all-solid-state electronic component technologies developed by VDI and demonstrated throughout the frequency band of interest."
Bulk Metallic Glass for Low Noise Fluxgate,NNX13CG41C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,699923.00,"Prime Photonics, LC",1116 South Main Street,,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Poland,Chief Executive Officer,5409612200,steve.poland@primephotonics.com,David T. Gray,Principal Investigator,5409612200,david.gray@primephotonics.com,"The team of Prime Photonics, Virginia Tech, and Utron Kinetics propose to develop a fabrication technology that will result in drop-in replacements for a diminishing supply of NASA fluxgate magnetometer ring cores. Specifically, we plan to capitalize on trends observed during the Phase I effort in terms of control over material properties in bulk, cobalt-rich metallic glass materials with increased permeability, tunable Curie temperature, highly controlled coercivity and saturation inductance, all without the introduction of magnetostrictive-based excess noise. The bulk nature of the material will provide an unprecedented degree of freedom in core geometry design over existing ribbon-form amorphous alloys, allowing for net shape, drop-in fluxgate cores that can compete with, or exceed noise levels observed in the 6-81.3 permalloy family. The Phase I effort brought the technology from observed trends in materials, a TRL of 1, to a level wherein analytical obersevations and proofs of concept have been carried out, a TRL of 3. During the Phase II effort, we projection a minimum TRL of 4 at the completion of the effort."
Self-Powered Magnetothermal Fluid Pump,NNX13CM14P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,122816.00,"Prime Photonics, LC",1116 South Main Street,,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Poland,CEO,5403153649,steve.poland@primephotonics.com,David Gray,Principal Investigator,5408084281,david.gray@primephotonics.com,"The ability to successfully manage thermal loads is increasingly a primary design constraint for many emerging engineered systems. Systems ranging from military aircraft to computational platforms to photovoltaic (PV) power generation all generate unwanted heat and traditional methods for transporting and removing this heat are often heavy, cumbersome, power hungry, or lack adequate heat removal capacity. Excess heat can result in reduced efficiency in PV systems, limit duty cycles for pulsed power applications, and ultimately cause failure of critical components if not managed properly. Similar problematic scenarios exist for many power generation systems, high power radio frequency (RF) devices, portable electronics, and lasers, to name a few.A host of thermal management techniques are currently available including heat pipes, liquid immersion, jet impingement and sprays, thermoelectric coolers, and refrigeration. While these techniques are adequate in some cases, none of these methods alone can meet the needs of future high power thermal management without incurring large penalties of weight, power, or volume. The technology proposed here overcomes these limitations through autonomic, self-powered, and self-cooling functionality by directly converting the unwanted thermal energy into useable mechanical energy for use in coolant pumps or refrigeration compressors."
High-Temperature Strain Gage for Static and Dynamic Tests,FA8650-13-M-2366,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149978.00,"Prime Photonics, LC",1116 South Main Street,,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Poland,President&CEO,(540) 315-3649,steve.poland@primephotonics.com,Russell May,Founder,(540) 808-4671,rmay@primephotonics.com,"ABSTRACT: Characterization of the mechanical properties and performance of advanced structural materials at high temperatures is critically important for the development of materials that will enable the next generation of military aircraft, including hypersonic vehicles. Instrumentation that can survive the high temperature environment while delivering accurate measurements reliably is needed to support validation of new materials such as high-temperature intermetallics and composites. Prime Photonics, teaming with researchers at Virginia Tech, proposes to develop a new, robust fiber optic strain gage system capable of accurate strain measurements under both dynamic and static loading of test samples at high temperatures. A novel glass system will be used to manufacture the strain gages so that they can withstand higher strain levels than fused silica, up to 20,000 microstrain. In addition, an interrogator (signal conditioner) based on a new optical architecture will be developed to enable the use of the fiber optic strain gage for both static tests and dynamic tests with strain rates exceeding 1000 microstrain per millisecond. BENEFIT: The initial target product application for the proposed high temperature fiber optic strain gage will be for high temperature materials and structures testing, marketed to DoD and NASA, university and commercial laboratories. Beyond fiber sensor applications, the novel low modulus glass system will be marketed for specialty optical and electrical insulator applications. Additionally, the novel static/dynamic Fabry-Perot interrogator will have widespread sensing applications including temperature, pressure, and vibration measurements and will be marketed by Prime Photonics as part of the existing VectorLight product line. During the Phase I, Prime Photonics will work closely with US Air Force stakeholders and company commercial contacts to identify candidate applications and candidate acquisition programs and transition partners. Prime Photonics will utilize existing contacts within the military and commercial gas turbine engine community to identify and develop transition targets and business plan for the high temperature strain gage and dynamic/static interrogator products."
Hybrid Energy Harvesting Systems,FA9550-13-C-0001,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,2,749916.00,"Prime Photonics, LC",1116 South Main Street,,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Poland,CEO,(540) 961-2200,steve.poland@primephotonics.com,John Coggin,"Manager, Sensors and Devices Group",(540) 961-2200,jcoggin@primephotonics.com,"ABSTRACT: For this Phase II STTR effort, Prime Photonics and Virginia Tech propose to demonstrate a fully packaged hybrid photovoltaic/magneto-thermoelectric (PV/MTG) panel with improved energy conversion efficiency designed for solar powered air vehicles. In addition to acting as an active thermal backplane for the PV, the MTG is designed to maximize thermal to electrical conversion from the available thermal gradient behind PV cells, and at a weight and with scalable fabrication suitable for large arrays aboard solar air vehicles. The MTG will be multifunctional -- providing additional energy per unit weight while also substituting for traditional honeycomb support structures required for packaged PVs. Design of the hybrid PV/MTG is a balance between PV operating temperatures, MTG efficiency, and overall system weight. An increase in PV temperature typically lowers PV efficiency yet the MTG efficiency increases with the rising available temperature differential ( & #61508;T). The Phase II design is expected to add at least 1% efficiency to the hybrid panel with the potential to add as much as 12% efficiency. Since the MTG backplane can double as support structure the weight penalty is minimal and specific power only increases. BENEFIT: The proposed technology offers an efficient, light-weight, hybrid energy harvesting platform that provides increased specific power (W/kg) and serves as a thermal backplane for solar aircraft photovoltaics (PV's). In addition to solar air vehicles, the technology is also applicable to space and terrestrial solar arrays A secondary product space for the Hybrid Harvester is as a replacement for bulk material thermoelectric generators (TEGs) used for waste heat recovery and energy harvesting for self powered wireless sensors. The device is fabricated using scalable MEMs fabrication techniques, including a novel 3D aerojet printing process, and will allow for easy transition from a research-scale fabrication technique to a larger, commercial scale production process. The tunable design of the device is such that it has efficient thermal capture over a wide range of operation temperatures and can therefore be integrated into nearly any application that has excess thermal energy available."
HCF Detection,N68335-13-C-0162,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,749990.00,"Prime Photonics, LC",1116 South Main Street,,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Steve Poland,CEO,(540) 961-2200,steve.poland@primephotonics.com,Dan Kominsky,Vice President of R&D,(540) 961-2200,dkominsky@primephotonics.com,"Modern turbine engines are making increasing use of the blisk or integrally bladed rotor (IBR). One benefit of using blisks is the reduced weight required to achieve the rotors function. Because a blisk is a single, continuous piece of material there is no decoupling of vibrational energy between the blades and the disk at the center of the rotor. As a result, vibrations can be transferred from one blade through the disk to other blades, setting up vibratory modes of the entire rotor. During the course of operation the blades of a blisk are altered by erosion, fatigue, and FOD. In the case of more significant blade damage the blade may need to be blended to restore its strength. These changes can result in rotor mistuning, allowing for more damaging vibratory modes to be supported in the rotor, leading to high cycle fatigue and ultimately rotor failure. Prime, along with our team partners, will continue to refine the FOCIS based technology to detect and characterize the vibrations of the rotor blades. This will be done by expanding the FOCIS probes native ability to perform time of arrival measurements. In the proposed configuration, a multi-beam variant of the FOCIS probe will be developed allowing for simultaneous monitoring of a blades motion at multiple locations."
Bio-Inspired Semiconductor Technology,W15QKN-13-C-0035,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2013,1,99996.00,"EWA Government Systems, Inc.",13873 Park Center Road,Suite 500,Herndon,VA,20171-3251,No,No,No,Kim Thomas,Vice President,(703) 904-5060,kthomas@ewa.com,Daniel Holt-Gosselin,Principal Engineer/Program Manager,(802) 777-8558,dholtgosselin@ewa.com,"EWA Government Systems Inc. (EWA GSI) along with University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), proposes to develop a low-power neuromorphic parallel processor (NPP). The Phase I technical objectives are: (1) design for one or more neuromorphic architecture(s) that will support the required NPP functionality, (2) develop the critical neuromorphic building blocks required for the proposed NPP architecture, (3) perform system design analysis to evaluate various building block and architecture configurations with a focus on implementation in the next generation hybrid CMOS semiconductor fabrication technology, and, (4) Draft the requirements specification that documents the NPP architecture, critical building blocks, functional requirements and performance characteristics. This Phase I effort will establish the preliminary NPP system design. In Phase II, we will implement the design and fabricate a tangible prototype NPP chipset, at the CNSE facilities. This SBIR initiative will lead to the development of innovative silicon-based NPP chipset designs that can transition to production."
Safe and Cost-Effective Business Access by Mobiles (BAM),N66001-13-P-5108,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,78809.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Odie Fthenos,Controller,(540) 951-5900,ofthenos@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,President,(540) 951-5900,mabrams@harmonia.com,"Harmonia""s proposal for SBIR Topic N122-149 entitled""Safe and Cost-Effective Business Access by Mobiles (BAM)""analyzes the pros, cons, and risks of different approaches evolving across DoD and commercially that can provide safe and cost-effective access by mobile device to Navy business applications in accordance with applicable IA requirements. We conduct a comprehensive evaluation in 7 dimensions of numerous questions that affect the design of a mobile device architecture. BAM also evaluates the feasibility of allowing""Bring Your Own Device""access via privately owned mobile devices. Harmonia""s focus is on applying their core competency in recommending, deploying, and configuring Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions with customized components. Initially targeted to PMW 240""s PRIDE system, BAM can be applied to various Lines of Business such as distribution, position management, workforce development, recruiting and accessions, Fleet and family support, pay and personnel, and enterprise biz services."
The NetOps/Mission Clearinghouse (NOMC) to Connect Cyber and Maritime Domains,N66001-13-P-5131,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79956.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Marc Abrams,President,(540) 951-5900,mabrams@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,President,(540) 951-5900,mabrams@harmonia.com,"Our work is concerned with solving a growing need to identify and assess the impact of attacks on the U.S. Navy""s vast and heterogeneous networking infrastructure; to report those attacks and impacts to the Maritime domain; and to enable command and control (C2) of those domains as an adjunct capability to traditional maritime C2. Right now the two domains are disjoint, because the cyber side is typically an outgrowth of non-military concepts and data representations from network monitoring, management, defense, intrusion detection, etc. But linking them is essential. ADM Roughead, former Navy CNO, on 19 October 2007 stated,""The opening rounds of the next war will be in cyberspace the Navy must be ready to prevent wars as well as win them; to do that, we must understand how we will live, operate, and win in cyberspace.""Harmonia proposes a system called NetOps/Mission Clearinghouse (NOMC) that implements a service for delivering NetOps data with near-real time delivery. NOMC connects the Cyber and Maritime domains, using new methods drawn from the best techniques for enterprise service implementation, AI, machine learning, scalable distributed file systems in clouds (e.g., Hadoop, MapR), and scalable SQL-free databases (e.g., HBase, Accumulo, CloudBase)."
"AIR Framework: Assess, Identify and Remediate the Usability of Graphical User Interfaces",W911QX-13-C-0075,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,999999.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,PI,(540) 951-5901,mabrams@harmonia.com,"We present the Graphical User Interface Test Assess and Remediate (GUITAR) framework to integrate disparate tools and manual non-computer based methods for usability assessment along with providing methods for assisting in the remediation of problems discovered. GUITAR is multifaceted approach to increasing usability by leveraging integrated tools and both automated and manual assessment strategies along with external environmental conditions data to identify and assist in the remediation of issues before they are encountered in the field. GUITAR is fully extensible, so that 3rd parties can add their own tools to GUITAR. GUITAR is designed to incorporate traditional usability assessment tools (e.g., GOMS tools, video recording tools, etc.), graphical user interface design tools (e.g., LiquidApps, Visual Studio), and allow creation of data capture methods for non-computer based assessment methods. Once issues are captured GUITAR utilizes previous issue solutions and guidelines to assist in remediation of discovered issues. GUITAR focuses on using commonly available technologies to maximize its adoption."
"Rise Tool for Updating Legacy Code to Multi-thread, Multi-core Processor Systems",N68335-13-C-0421,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79972.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Marc Abrams,PI,(540) 951-5901,mabrams@harmonia.com,"Central Processing Unit (CPU) chip makers made two advancements in recent years: (1) hyper-threading (e.g., Intel HT technology) to allow a single processor core to execute multiple instructions simultaneously, and (2) fabrication of dies with multiple processor cores. Exploiting those requires new code in C#, Java, or other languages that embrace threads. A thread is a conventional sequential program, but threads can be scheduled to execute in parallel. A key challenge is that two threads must serialize their work on shared memory areas or data structures (or else one could destroy the data of the other thread), requiring special synchronization primitives (e.g., monitors, message passing). This is a non-trivial job for a programming team. Rise Multi-Core fills the need is for automated analysis that can improve older sequential code to make use of multiple cores. The Desired Future State is a tool to analyze existing legacy code and apply transformations it to effectively use threading and multi-cores to improve performance (e.g., lower time for route planning, or increased throughput for graphical operations)."
Navy Cash Next Generation,N00189-11-C-Z059,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,1534983.00,Harmonia Holdings Group,"2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 1000",,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Pallabi Saboo,CEO,(540) 951-5915,psaboo@harmonia.com,Jai Saboo,PI,(571) 435-1300,jsaboo@harmonia.com,"The Navy currently uses a Smart Card based stored value system to provide sailors with the ability to make purchases on board a ship This system, called Navy Cash, has been implemented on a majority of the ships but the Navy is encountering problems of cost and maintenance is looking for an alternative that will automate back-end processes and allow newer authentication technologies such as biometric to be inducted. Harmonia proposes to develop a system that implements a""Bank ATM/POS-like""system onboard the ship which works in conjunction with standard bank issued debit cards, biometric authentication devices and a Navy-specific PIN set up by the sailor at the time of registration to create a secure and simple environment for cashless purchases. The system also fully automates the bank-end processes for reconciliation of transactions and settlement of accounts with vendors. It also provides a facility for disbursing cash while onboard without unduly taxing the disbursement officer's time. The result is a system that can be implemented systematically and cost-effectively, provides significant savings in terms of management and long-term maintenance and is scalable and upgradeable to newer authentication processes as they mature."
SBIR Phase I: Development of Novel Weed and Moisture Control Mat for Tree Protection,1315392,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,Zynnovation LLC,11725 N. Briarpatch Drive,,Midlothian,VA,23113-2306,Yes,Yes,No,Hailing Yang,,5402392902,hailingyang@gmail.com,Hailing Yang,,5402392902,hailingyang@gmail.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study the feasibility of developing a novel weed control and moisture conservation (WCMC) mat from recycled diapers for tree protection. Disposable diapers are the most disposed household products in United States and contribute more than 2% to municipal solid waste. The majority of disposed diapers are currently accumulated in landfill fields. By capitalizing on many of the unique features of disposable diapers, the WCMC tree mat product will promote the growth of young trees, protects against drought stress, and allows reforestation/afforestation in arid or semiarid areas, on degraded soils, and on wastelands. It can also reduce water usage and maintenance costs for urban forests. The WCMC product will permit maximum usage of limited water resources by its strong water retention capability and by its suppression of weed growth. Investigations will be carried out on the effectiveness of this product in protecting young trees against drought conditions, the feasibility of using low-cost and environmentally benign manufacturing technologies, and the potential environmental impacts. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be threefold. If successful, it will enable 1) reduction in solid waste accumulation, 2) faster, easier, and cheaper afforestation / reforestation processes; and 3) reduced environmental impacts. The commercial potential of the WCMC products will be global, and will focus on usage in arid/semiarid as well as urban areas. The WCMC products can serve markets including weed barrier, garden mulch, fruit and nuts tree care, and urban forestation and landscaping. The estimated market size is about $1.2-1.9 billion. This product will help trees survive through drought stresses with less water consumption and less after-planting care. It will naturally lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and increased carbon sequestration, and to a reduction in the carbon, nitrogen and water footprints."
Biological CO2 Fixation for the Production of Formic Acid Powered by Sugars,DE-FG02-13ER86555,DOE,DOE,STTR,2013,1,150000.00,Gate Fuels Incorporated,2200 Kraft Drive,Suite 1200B,Blacksburg,VA,24060-1600,No,No,Yes,Joseph Rollin,Mr.,8045867775,jrollin@gatefuels.com,Tsz K. Tam,Dr.,3152619457,tktam@gatefuels.com,"Formic acid (FA, CH2O2) is the simplest carboxylic acid. It is mainly used as a preservative and antibacterial agent in livestock feed. A significant fraction of FA is used in the leather-processing, textile and rubber industries and a small fraction of formic acid is used as a cleaning agent replacing mineral acids. Aqueous FA is a promising liquid hydrogen-storage carrier with a hydrogen storage density of 4.3% H2 weight. On industrial scales, most formic acid is produced through carbonylation of methanol, which is produced from fossil fuels. Since carbohydrate (CH2O), the most abundant renewable chemical energy, has low costs (e.g., $~0.30/kg), we propose to fix CO2 to formic acid powered by sugars through a novel synthetic enzyme pathway comprising 13 enzymes. The overall stoichiometric reaction is 6 CO2 + 7 H2O + C6H10O5 (starch, Phase I; cellulose, Phase II) -7 12 CH2O2. Cell-free biosystems are in vitro assembly of numerous enzymes and/or cofactors for implementing complicated biological reactions that microbes and chemical catalysts cannot do, for example, 12 mol of dihydrogen generated from per glucose, enzymatic conversion of cellulose to starch. In this project, we (Gate Fuels Inc. and Virginia Tech) will validate the technological feasibility of enzymatic conversion of 6 CO2 and starch to 12 formic acid by putting 13 enzymes together under modest reaction conditions (e.g., ~30-40 oC and ~1 atm) and will use a biomimetic cofactor replacing a costly and unstable cofactor NAD. The production of formic acid from high-concentration CO2 released by power stations and renewable sugars would bring numerous benefits: (i) utilize CO2 for the production of a value-added chemical, which is produced from fossil fuels, (ii) decrease net CO2 emissions, (iii) create high-paying biomanufacturing jobs and promote rural economy, (iv) utilize abundant domestic renewable resources, (v) enhance national energy security, and (vi) enhance technology export in the future. Cell-free systems would become a disruptive biomanufacturing platform, compared to living entities."
SBIR Phase II: One-step Production of Lactic Acid from Lignocellulosic Biomass by Recombinant Cellulolytic Bacillus subtilis,1256635,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,2,437163.00,Gate Fuels Incorporated,2200 Kraft Drive,Suite 1200B,Blacksburg,VA,24060-1600,No,No,Yes,Xiaozhou Zhang,,4042936888,xzhang@gatefuels.com,Xiaozhou Zhang,,4042936888,xzhang@gatefuels.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will further develop new proprietary cellulolytic Bacillus subtilis strains that can produce high-titer, optically- pure L-lactate in high yields from pretreated lignocellulosic biomass through consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) technology. Lactate, or equivalently, lactic acid, is the precursor of the biodegradable plastic polylactic acid (PLA). The following Phase I goals were achieved: (i) the creation of a cellulolytic B. subtilis strain with an enhanced cellulolytic ability, (ii) the demonstration of lactate production from pretreated biomass without the use of cellulases, and (iii) the secretion of large-size heterologous proteins in B. subtilis. This Phase II project will further engineer strains with enhanced cellulolytic ability, and will seek to increase product yield, productivity (i.e., its space time yield), titer, and purity using systems biology and synthetic biology tools. At completion of this project, the goal is to have industrially-ready CBP strains that can hydrolyze pretreated lignocellulosic biomass efficiently, with product yields of>90% based on mixed biomass sugars and>95% based on glucose, a titer of ~150 g/L, and a productivity of ~1 g/L/h. Such Bacillus strains will be ready for large-scale fermentation as a continuing commercialization phase. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the production of a key building-block chemical from biomass. New proprietary recombinant cellulolytic B. subtilis strainsdeveloped in this project will provide an ultra-low-cost platform for producing L-lactate from the non-food biomass, with many advantages over other developing CBP microorganisms. Large-scale production of L-lactate from pretreated lignocellulosic biomass will enable the development of other CBP microorganisms that could produce PLA, biochemicals (e.g., succinate) and advanced drop-in biofuels (e.g., isobutanol, jet fuel) in the future."
Wirelessly Powered Smart RFID Tag (WiPST),N68335-13-C-0056,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79930.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,Yakup Bayram,CEO,(614) 429-1208,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,Alex Ruege,Principal Engineer,(614) 429-1208,alex.ruege@paneratech.com,We are proposing a Wirelessly Powered Smart Tag (WiPST) that integrates a miniaturized novel antenna with a high efficiency rectifier circuit. Our proposed design integrates our latest breakthrough developments in highly efficient rectifier design and wireless power transfer unit. We will leverage our years of experience in designing wireless sensor systems and packaging for harsh environments to ensure a WiPST packaging that can endure demanding environmental requirements of the rotorcraft platform. Our Phase I research will also focus on developing and demonstrating the key components of the WiPST system.
"High-Performance, Low-Profile and UWB Tightly Coupled Antenna Array",FA9453-13-C-0026,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,735293.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,Yakup Bayram,CEO&CTO,(614) 429-1208,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,Yakup Bayram,CEO&CTO,(614) 429-1208,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,"ABSTRACT: During phase I, we successfully designed a low-profile dual-linear polarization UWB (20-50 GHz) phase array antenna design. A key component of our UWB array is that it has a wide angle scan capability that is critical to achieving uninterrupted communication on the move. We showed that it could scan from zenith down to at least 15 degrees above the horizon, superior to any existing phase array designs. Our design also features a single PCB (RT/Duroid) and a standard-size coaxial feeding cable with feature sizes that can be manufactured with advanced PCB manufacturing techniques. In Phase II, we will further optimize/refine the array design and demonstrate its key performance parameters such the bandwidth, wide scan angle, polarization, etc. on a prototype array with measurements at the anechoic chamber. We will also develop a roadmap for low-cost mass-fabrication of the array for faster transition to the market. BENEFIT: The proposed research and development offers a new design paradigm in developing conformal wideband low-profile antennas. We anticipate that the proposed technology will lead to low-cost and low-profile antenna solutions for high speed data communication links on aircrafts. It will enable low-drag and light-weight solutions in addition to increased antenna performance. It's anticipated that the proposed antenna technology also has significant potential in the commercial airborne platforms due to its low-cost and light-weight characteristics in addition to increased performance over legacy antenna systems."
Inline Material Electrical Characterization Sensor (IMECS),SB1341-13-CN-0035,DOC,NIST,SBIR,2013,2,299972.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,,,,,Yakup Bayram,,(614) 429-1208,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,"There is no capability to rapidly assess the electrical properties of nanofiber films during manufacturing and prepregging process. Continuous monitoring of these films will guide the U.S. nanofiber manufacturing industry in optimizing and increasing the yield rate with proper process optimization and avoid any inconsistency in the process and the cost with associated waste material. To address this technology gap in the U.S. manufacturing industry, PaneraTech, under the NIST SBIR Phase I program, demonstrated feasibility of an Inline Material Electrical Characterization Sensor (IMECS) for non-contact evaluation of nanofiber films during the manufacturing. Under this Phase II program, we will build a fully functional prototype, which will be ready for transitioning to the market."
Foldable Lightweight Parabolic Antenna (FLPA) for Navigation and Communication Applications,FA9453-13-C-0012,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,748042.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,Yakup Bayram,CEO&Chief Technology Of,(614) 599-8493,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,Yakup Bayram,CEO&Chief Technology Off,(614) 599-8493,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,"ABSTRACT: In Phase I, PaneraTech demonstrated feasibility of a Foldable Lightweight Parabolic Antenna (FLPA) that had the minimum required beamwidth and gain to view at least one GPS satellite anywhere on the earth any time of the day. We achieved significantly high gain compared to traditional GPS receivers so that Time to First Fix is expected to be improved significantly under heavy interference and low signal situations. FLPA is also shown to have an excellent gain pattern that substantially suppresses the interference. During the Phase I, we carried out an extensive analysis to determine the necessary beamwidth required. We also designed and built a prototype reflector antenna and measured its performance in compact range to demonstrate the feasibility of FLPA. Our proposed technology is based on a reflector surface made out of embroidered conductive yarns, thus enabling a low weight foldable parabolic antenna that can be carried inside a thigh holster. In Phase II, we will optimize the mechanical design and carry out necessary mechanical and RF tests to ensure the final prototype at the end of Phase II is battlefield ready (ready for 810G certification). We will also demonstrate GPS performance of the antenna under light/heavy interference/jamming and/or low signal conditions. In the second half of Phase II, we will focus on demonstrating dual use of the FLPA for communication applications as well. We will initially target INMARSAT as a potential communication application to demonstrate transmit/receive capability of the antenna. We will also engage potential Phase III partners along with U.S. Air Force personnel to identify another communication if necessary to demonstrate FLPA's ability to transmit/receive for communication applications. BENEFIT: The proposed Foldable Lightweight Parabolic Antenna (FLPA) has tremendous commercial applications in the defense and civilian markets. While FLPA technology offers significant benefits to the DoD for GPS and communication applications, it also has a potential application as a communication enhancement technology for satellite telecom service providers such as ViaSat, Globalstar etc. Current subscribers of the satellite telecom customers who rely on a bulky monopole antenna attached to their phones and laptops and receive poor service due to high interference, foliage etc, will be able to use FLPA as a high gain antenna for improved telecom service. Search and rescue teams who work in remote fields will also find this technology vital to their needs for enhanced telecom and navigation services. FLPA also can be used as a high gain antenna for cubesat applications as well given its light-weight and foldable/deployable structure."
SBIR Phase II: Structural Imaging of High Temperature Furnace Walls,1256254,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,2,499918.00,"PANERATECH, INC.",4125 LAFAYETTE CENTER DRIVE SUITE 200,,CHANTILLY,VA,20151-1272,No,No,No,Yakup Bayram,,6145998493,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,Yakup Bayram,,6145998493,yakup.bayram@paneratech.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a prototype 3-D imaging sensor for high temperature furnaces used in the glass industry. These furnaces are also used in many other industries, including cement, coke, iron & steel, and pulp & paper industries. This 3-D imaging sensor creates an interior image of the furnace wall so that maintenance personnel can identify wall erosion, and any molten material leaking through the wall joints. The objective in Phase II is to develop a prototype sensor system that can form 3-D images of the interface between the furnace wall and molten glass. To achieve this, a high performance sensor hardware and corresponding imaging software will be developed. The entire prototyped system will be tested on high temperature furnace walls using in-house kilns followed by tests at an operational glass furnace. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that it will enable maintenance programs based upon real furnace conditions. This will allow longer life span of high temperature furnaces and the ability to make informed local maintenance without a major interruption in production. This translates to significant financial savings for the glass manufacturing industry and improved safety, as several catastrophic accidents have occurred due to molten glass leaking from the furnaces. The sensor technology also offers a platform on which many other applications can be built, including microwave medical imaging, archaeology explorations, and defect detection inside refractories during manufacturing."
High Temperature Bell Motor,NNX13CP07C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,197926.00,"Bear Technologies, LLC",1163 Tricounty Drive,,Oilville,VA,23129-2222,No,No,No,Karron Myrick,Dir. of Finance&Bus. Dev.,8047080310,kmyrick@bearmechanisms.com,Jerri Ji,Principal Investigator,8047080311,tmyrick@bearmechanisms.com,"The National Research Council (NRC) has identified the need for motors and actuators that can operate in extreme high and low temperature environments as a technical gap to exploring deeper into our solar systems. The need for high temperature motors and actuators for robotic mechanisms is critical to explore the surface and atmosphere of Venus, Jupiter and/or Saturn.Bear Technologies, LLC (Bear) proposes to create environmentally tolerant motors for robotic missions. As identified by NRC and NASA there are no commercial actuators or motors that can work in wide variation and high temperature environments (-50 degrees Centigrade to 500 degrees Centigrade). The current approach has been to shield or isolate the environment from these systems. The problem with this approach is that it limits the ability to explore on surface, increases the bulk and is expensive with temperature control systems. The need is to create tolerant technologies that can operate in the extreme environment.Bear Technologies has been exploring motor design for more than 5 years. Currently, Bear is working on a high torque direct drive electric motor under a Phase II award. The concept proposed uses new design concepts coupled with tolerant material to create a temperature tolerant motor (TTM). The proposed motor concept has a fundamentally different design that offers offers higher torque and lower speed than traditional motor design. This novel design will help minimize failure risks at extreme temperatures. By combining certain extreme temperature materials with no ball bearing or lubrication, the Principle Investigator (PI) believes the motor concept has the potential to function for an increased period of time in extreme environments. Motor and actuator technologies that are capable of operating in the high-temperature (460 degrees C) and high-pressure (90 bars) Venus surface environment are needed for multiple robotic systems."
Surface Abrasion Tool,NNX13CP35P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,123740.00,"Bear Technologies, LLC",1163 Tricounty Drive,,Oilville,VA,23129-2222,No,No,No,Karron Myrick,Dir. of Finance&Bus. Dev.,8047080310,kmyrick@bearmechanisms.com,Tom Myrick,Principal Investigator,8047080311,tmyrick@bearmechanisms.com,"The Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG) Final Report reiterates the importance of planetary sample return stating that sample return architectures provide a promising intersection of objectives for long term collaborations. The proposed innovation is an enabling technology for robotic planetary sample return missions. The proposed concept is a passive mechanism that works within a larger sample drilling system. Bear developed a complete planetary sample acquisition system called the Universal Sampling System (USS) which includes the baseline drill with Non-Rotating Technology (NRT Coring Drill) which was funded under a SBIR Phase 2 contract. Bear has several concepts for creating additional capabilities among them is the proposed Surface Abrasion Tool (SAT). The proposed innovation is a critical system component for meeting the science objectives of planetary sample return. Bear proposes to research and advance a Rock Abrasion (MER Rovers) like tool that can attach to and is driven by an existing coring drill thus requiring no additional motors. The proposed innovation has broad significance for the exploration of planets and small bodies. The proposed project is directly relevant to the topic as it addresses the importance of technologies for robotic mobility, manipulation, and sampling for in-situ analysis or return to earth from planetary small bodies, including Mars, Venus, comets, asteroids, and planetary Moons.Two main goals of the research are to:1. Develop a method for attaching the surface abrasion tool to the larger coring drill without additional motors or wires.2. Research the possible benefits/tradeoffs of cutting rather than grinding to remove rock surface with power constraints.Regardless of which technique is used to prepare the surface (cutting or grinding), the passive tool will strive to reduce the time it takes to prepare rock surfaces versus state of the art."
Characterizing the Impact of Ionospheric Wave Structures on Coordinate Registration.,FA9453-13-M-0192,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149797.00,"W R Systems, LTD","2500 Almeda Avenue, Suite 214",,Norfolk,VA,-,No,No,No,Gregory Harris,Director of Contracts,(703) 293-7315,gharris@wrsystems.com,Roderick Barnes,Principal Investigator,(703) 293-7312,rbarnes@wrsystems.com,"ABSTRACT: We propose the assembly of a coordinate registration assessment suite applicable to over-the-horizon radar (OTHR). The suite includes a 3-D ionospheric model coupled with a 3-D magneto-ionic ray tracing code. The propagation model will have sufficient fidelity to accurately capture the effects of atmospheric gravity waves down to the high frequency limit. The propagation model will be designed to populate OTHR coordinate transform data for examination of the impacts of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). The suite builds on a parametric climatological model, and be capable of ingesting data from a range of sensors (sounders, GPS) and for a range of TID scale variations that will be formulated as part of this proposal. The impact of TIDs will be assessed over a range of different TID conditions (directional spectrum) and OTHR operating scenarios to assess the nature of TID activity most relevant to OTHR accuracy. We propose developing high level design for a measurement system capable of providing real time estimates of TIDs in a format relevant for the propagation model. The design is expected to utilize modern direct digital multi-channel HF hardware that can provide high fidelity characterization of TIDs at relatively low cost. BENEFIT: The system is aimed at improving the accuracy of HF geolocation systems. A cost effective TID measurement network providing executable input to an advanced coordinate registration system would take the accuracy of systems such as Next Generation OTHR and HF Emitter Geolocators to new levels of accuracy. Recent interest in Next Generation OTHR within the Department of Defense, specifically applied to a NORAD/NORTHCOM homeland defense mission, provides incentive to invest in developing this technology."
Life and Reliability Software Tools for Turbopropulsion Systems,N68335-13-C-0101,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,499933.00,"Mustard Seed Software, LLC",300 W. Main St.,Suite 301,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Jeff Deal,Vice President of Operati,(434) 973-7673,deal@datamininglab.com,Simeon FItch,Director of Software Engi,(434) 973-7673,fitch@datamininglab.com,"We propose to develop an innovative methodology for life and reliability prediction of hot-section components in advanced turbo propulsion systems where the effects of the high heat dwell environment must be predicted accurately. This includes the activation of synergistic time-dependent damage modessuch as creep, stress corrosion, and stress rupturein the presence of cycle-dependent fatigue crack initiation and growth. The proposed technology focuses on addressing the effects of these time-dependent damage modes in engine disks made from Nickel-based superalloys that could exhibit location-specific microstructures, microstructural variability, or evolution of microstructures after thermal exposures at elevated temperatures for extended time periods. The novel time-dependent fracture algorithm will be integrated with a commercial probabilistic life-prediction codecalled DARWIN(TM)thereby complementing and extending a suite of existing reliability analysis tools for turbine engines. This will provide a full-lifecycle reliability analysis tool for aircraft engines being considered in the VAATE program."
Adaptive Gaming Environment - Submarines (AGE-S),N00014-13-P-1088,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79998.00,In-Depth Engineering Co,11350 Random Hills Road,Suite 110,Fairfax,VA,-,No,No,No,Howard Reichel,Sr. Vice President,(703) 592-1866,howard.reichel@indepth.com,Kevin McCardle,Principal Investigator,(703) 592-0776,kevin.mcardle@indepth.com,"The""Adaptive Gaming Environment - Submarines""(AGE- S) integrates and synchronizes simulated EW data with OBT/SMMTT data to support integrated team training , provide a stand-alone training mode for individualized instruction using EW serious addictive games in accordance with evolving cognitive science research, and an Assessment capability that is suitable for evaluation of complex multi-path tasks and measurement of desired skills against a Virtual Mentor (VirtEx). AGE-S will compliment the next generation requirements for enhancing submarine EW operations including digitizing signals at the sensor level and improving the signal processing and Control and Display (C & D) sub-systems."
Chemical Analyzer System for In Situ and Real Time Surface Monitoring for Composition Control During Synthesis of Compound Semiconductor Films,W911NF-13-P-0021,DOD,ARMY,STTR,2013,1,149826.00,"Staib Instruments, Inc.",101 Stafford Court,,Williamsburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Lillyan Dylla,Treasurer,(757) 565-7000,ldylla@staibinstruments.com,Philippe Staib,Director R&D,(757) 565-7000,staib-us@staibinstruments.com,"The overall objective of this proposal is to evaluate the new in-situ growth monitoring system, Auger Probe, in an MBE environment for reliable and reproducible, highly precise results. State-of-the art data manipulation techniques will be used without impacting the growth process (MBE in this case). Using Auger Electron Spectrometry (AES), the Probe system will be used for in situ, real time analysis and control of surface elemental compositions during MBE growth of compound semiconductor materials. Demonstrations will be performed on III-V compounds [such as (Al,In,Ga)(As,Sb)], but the methods will be developed in such a way that they could be adapted to other materials systems."
Rapid Manufacturing Method for High-Temperature Turbine Components,DE-FG02-13ER90652,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,149999.00,Mikro Systems Inc.,"1180 Seminole Trail, Suite 220",,Charlottesville,VA,22901-5739,No,No,No,Pamela Meller,Dr.,4342446480,meller@mikrosystems.com,Michael Appleby,Dr.,4342446480,appleby@mikrosystems.com,"Mikro Systems, Inc (Mikro) has a breakthrough manufacturing technology that can dramatically reduce the time and cost of designing, prototyping, and testing advanced high-temperature turbine components. The gas turbine industry needs rapid and cost effective prototyping methods to produce advanced high- temperature parts from application specific materials that can be used in hot test rigs and test engines. Current layered manufacturing techniques (LMTs) cannot produce parts from relevant materials needed for high-temperature turbine components. The proposed rapid manufacturing method combines the best aspects of rapid prototyping technologies to quickly produce tooling, with a robust manufacturing process to cast and then sinter powdered metal parts that can perform at high operating temperatures. This method changes the game by completely eliminating some of the most costly and time consuming process steps, such as machining and investment casting, and for the first time enables the possibility of having numerous design / development test iterations for new parts. Through previous SBIR and commercial work Mikro has direct R & amp;D experience with the most critical aspects of the proposed work plan which mitigates technical risks and increases the likelihood of success. Mikro has successfully commercialized two SBIR funded technologies and its proposed Rapid Manufacturing Method has a high likelihood and clear path for commercial transition through an established license agreement with Siemens Energy."
Advanced Filtration to Improve Single Crystal Casting Yield,DE-FG02-12ER90391,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,2,999977.00,Mikro Systems Inc.,"1180 Seminole Trail, Suite 220",,Charlottesville,VA,22901-5739,No,No,No,James Atkinson,Dr.,4342446480,atkinson@mikrosystems.com,Michael Appleby,Dr.,4342446480,appleby@mikrosystems.com,"Modern gas turbines must operate at higher temperatures in order to achieve better fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. To achieve maximum performance, components must be made of Nickel super-alloys and must be cast as single crystals. Although single crystal casting yields have improved, they have not improved sufficiently to enable wide-spread use of single crystal super-alloys in industrial gas turbines (IGT), primarily due to low yields. Innovative approaches to increase the yield are needed. Mikro Systems proposes to apply its patented Tomo Lithographic Molding (TOMO) process to produce superior ceramic filters that are used to remove the impurities during the molten metal pouring step in the casting process. Improved filtration will increase the yield and ultimately lower the cost of these critical and costly high technology parts. A 1% improvement in casting yield could lead to annual savings over $10 million in the U.S. alone. During Phase I Mikro demonstrated the technical feasibility of producing advanced designs for pour cup and inline filters using TOMO. Until now, these designs could not be produced due to limitations in current manufacturing methods. Flow tests of Mikro filters demonstrated much lower variability in flow rate and pressure drop from filter-to- filter compared with off-the-shelf filters. Flow rates during single crystal casting are critically linked to the metal solidification process, which is directly tied to production yield for turbine blades. The primary Phase II objectives are to optimize materials and filter designs to be ready for industry standard single crystal casting. This will include extensive testing and modeling, and will conclude with foundry casting of an advanced turbine blade to evaluate and compare the new filter performance with current filters. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Advanced filters have application in investment casting of turbine components for IGT as well as the much larger aero turbine markets. This will improve the yield and lower costs for single crystal casting and can be expanded to other casting processes and products. Investment casting is a multi-billion dollar global market."
"Enhanced Path Planning, Guidance, and Estimation Algorithms for NASA's GMAT",NNX13CG06C,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,2,699998.00,DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation,1400 Crystal Drive,Suite 1400,Arlington,VA,22202-,No,No,No,Becky Smith,Business Official,7036821532,becky.smith@dac.us,Belinda Marchand,Principal Investigator,7036821618,belinda.marchand@dac.us,"Advanced trajectory design and estimation capabilities in complex nonlinear dynamical regimes represent two of the greatest technical challenges of modern space flight. The impact of nonlinear effects in both path planning and estimation is often most noticeable when the spacecraft under consideration transitions through a region of space where multiple exogenous perturbations become significant. Perhaps the most salient example of such effects are libration point missions. To address these challenges, DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation seeks to advance the capabilities of NASA's open source General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) by integrating the latest advances in trajectory path planning and estimation, including multi-sensor data fusion. This includes the development of an advanced path planning capability that leverages concepts from dynamical systems theory, multi-phase targeting, and visualization for trajectory design in regions where multi-body effects are significant. Parallel to that, we are developing an advanced estimation capability that leverages approximately $10 million of research and development performed by DECISIVE ANALYTICS for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the US Air Force. The capabilities sought during Phase II will leverage two GMAT prototype plugins, developed as part of the prior Phase I effort, that partially demonstrate some of the functionality proposed."
On-Board Data Handling for Longer Duration Autonomous Systems on Expeditionary Missions,N00014-13-P-1211,DOD,NAVY,STTR,2013,1,79915.00,Novateur Research Solutions LLC,20452 Scioto Terrace,,Ashburn,VA,20147-,No,No,No,Khurram Hassan-Shafique,Member,(703) 509-0069,kshafique@novateurresearch.com,David Tolliver,Principal Investigator,(412) 983-3558,dtolliver@novateurresearch.com,"This STTR Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of novel biologically-inspired computational memory models for on-board exploitation of long-duration sensor data streams to enable autonomous missions in unknown environments. The key innovation in this effort is a computationally and space-efficient computational memory model that is able to: i) handle long-duration data streams; ii) identify informative features in data streams; iii) learn from unlabeled sensor observations; iv) adapt to new scenarios; v) store learned experience in short term and long term memories and their semantic associations; and v) perform prediction and inference using the observations and the learned models. The proposed model provides a framework for modeling and solving a large variety of autonomous learning and prediction problems that arise in UAV and UGV missions. The Phase I effort will include; development of proposed models, solution of UAV and UGV problems using the models, performance optimization for SWaP constrained onboard processing, quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the proposed technologies, and demonstration of proof of concept using real-world data from multiple use-cases. The project will benefit from the Ohio State University""s expertise in computational memory modeling and Novateur Research Solution""s experience in sensor exploitation and onboard processing."
Complete Muon Collider Cooling Channel Design and Simulations,DE-FG02-12ER86512,DOE,DOE,STTR,2013,2,1000000.00,"Muplus, Inc.",45 Jonquil Lane,,Newport News,VA,23606-1530,No,No,No,Thomas J. Roberts,Dr.,6308402424,tjrob@muplusinc.com,Cary Yoshikawa,Dr.,6308406314,cary.yoshikawa@muplusinc.com,"Considerable progress has been made in developing promising subsystems for muon beam cooling channels to provide the great reduction of emittances required for an Energy-Frontier Muon Collider; but an end-to-end design is lacking. Meanwhile, the recent discovery of a Higgs-like boson has created interest in the high-energy physics community for a Higgs Factory to investigate whether its properties verify Standard Model predictions or represent new physics. This project is developing principles and tools to match beam phase space distributions between and within muon beam cooling subsystems that may have different characteristics. The Helical Cooling Channel (HCC), with combined helical dipole and solenoid fields, allows a general analytic approach to guide designs of transitions from one set of cooling channel parameters to another. These principles and tools are being applied to design complete cooling channels for a Higgs Factory and an Energy Frontier Muon Collider. Transverse and longitudinal phase space matching techniques were developed in Phase I and applied to previously designed segments that presented the greatest matching challenge. Simulation results demonstrated even better performance in half the length of the original! Theoretical considerations of space charge effects started. Improvements in the G4beamline simulation program and its use on FermiGrid facilitated the computations and associated successes. Studies of early segments in a particular promising cooling channel indicate a need to optimize its design further in Phase II. Armed with the demonstrated matching techniques and further enabled by the computing power of NERSC, where G4beamline will be installed, the entire cooling channel will be revisited and designed, considering space charge effects. Analytic fields used in the Phase I design work will be replaced by realistic fields generated by coil elements. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Our ulterior motive is to enable the DOE to hire US companies to construct Muon Colliders, the next multi-billion dollar scientific instruments to investigate the smallest things in the universe. The cold muon beams developed in the project also have important potential applications for homeland security, medicine, and other basic and applied scientific research."
Additive Friction Stir Deposition of Aluminum Alloys and Functionally Graded Structures,NNX13CL38P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124866.00,AEROPROBE CORPORATION,200 TECHNOLOGY DR,,CHRISTIANSBURG,VA,24073-7384,Yes,No,No,Jeff Schultz,Business Official,5404439215,jeff.schultz@aeroprobe.com,Kumar Kandasamy,Additive Friction Stir PI,5404439215,Kumar.Kandasamy@aeroprobe.com,"State-of-the-art additive manufacturing technologies for metal parts have evolved around powder metallurgy and fusion welding-based processes. Both of these processing methodologies yield parts with inferior mechanical and physical properties as compared to wrought metal of the same composition. Additionally, the production rates for even the fastest processes are relatively low (~40 lbs/hr for Ti) and the part envelopes are limited to a few cubic feet. Aeroprobe proposes a highly scalable process for additive manufacturing of wrought metal structures based on their additive friction stir (AFS) process which provides high-strength coatings and welds (strengths comparable to the base metal UTS) while retaining a wrought microstructure. AFS has successfully deposited materials ranging from light metals, such as Al and Mg alloys, to high-temperature metals, such as Inconel 625 and oxide dispersion strengthened steels. Initial additive manufacturing demonstrations with AFS were highly successful and produced fully dense structures with wrought mechanical properties. The overall objective of this project is to further develop AFS technology into an additive manufacturing process to enable full-density, near net-shape fabrication of airframe structures. An initial process-structure-property relationship study will be conducted to demonstrate the physical and mechanical properties achievable in Al alloys via AFS. Finally, Aeroprobe will demonstrate the feasibility of AFS to produce complex 3D structures by fabricating an aluminum demonstration part of a relevant geometry."
"Large-Scale Fabrication of Ultrafine-Grained, Functionally-Graded Mg Armor",W911QX-13-C-0089,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,662226.00,AEROPROBE CORPORATION,200 TECHNOLOGY DR,,CHRISTIANSBURG,VA,24073-7384,Yes,No,No,Nanci Hardwick,CEO,(540) 443-9215,nanci.hardwick@aeroprobe.com,Kumar Kandasamy,Additive Friction Stir PI,(540) 443-9215,Kumar.Kandasamy@aeroprobe.com,"Additive friction stir (AFS) is a wrought metal deposition process capable of consolidating and depositing advanced metallic materials. In this Phase II effort, AFS will be used to fabricate both plates and complex parts from ultra-fine grained magnesium powders. A detailed process/structure/property relationship study will be performed prior to fabricating the project deliverables to understand the interplay between the AFS process parameters and the final part performance. The Phase II deliverables will be among the largest additively fabricated parts made to date by any process. It is expected that Aeroprobe will also demonstrate the highest volumetric deposition rate for any additive manufacturing process during the fabrication of the deliverables."
Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management,W9113M-13-C-0014,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,536492.00,"Power Fingerprinting, Inc.",1899 Preston White Dr.,,Reston,VA,20191-5435,No,No,No,Steven Chen,Chairman,(301) 661-6729,schen@powerfingerprinting.com,Carlos R. Aguayo Gonzalez,CTO,(540) 200-8344,caguayog@powerfingerprinting.com,"One of the most important aspects in managing the risks in the cyber supply chain is being able to verify the integrity of the different hardware and software modules, as they are vulnerable to cyber attacks at all level of the execution stack and throughout their life cycle. A novel integrity assessment and intrusion detection approach called power fingerprinting (PFP) is capable of extremely accurate and reliable detection of malicious intrusions, unauthorized modifications, and tampering in critical embedded systems. This revolutionary approach monitors the power consumption of digital systems to assess its execution status and detect, with extreme accuracy, when an unauthorized execution has managed to disrupt the normal operation of critical embedded systems. The objective of Phase II is to further validate the ability of PFP to perform integrity analysis in different ICT components to support cyber supply chain risk management. To achieve this objective we will develop automatic tools to facilitate module characterization and will extend the reach of PFP to enable it to detect counterfeit components, in addition to malicious software and hardware Trojans."
SBIR Phase II: Cyber Security Monitoring for Critical Embedded and Wireless Systems Using Power Fingerprinting,1330970,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,2,300000.00,"Power Fingerprinting, Inc.",1899 Preston White Dr.,,Reston,VA,20191-5435,No,No,No,Carlos R. Aguayo-Gonzalez,,5408186188,caguayog@powerfingerprinting.com,Carlos R. Aguayo-Gonzalez,,5408186188,caguayog@powerfingerprinting.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project should provide a novel cyber security solution for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) based on Power Fingerprinting (PFP) technology. PFP provides integrity assessment and intrusion detection for embedded and resource-constrained platforms by using an external device to monitor side-channel information and applying signal processing techniques to determine the execution status of a processor. Because PFP monitoring is performed by an external device, it can be applied to platforms with constrained computational resources, such as Industrial Control Systems, for which solutions based on traditional cyber security approaches are practically inexistent. There are no commercially available solutions capable of monitoring the execution and detecting intrusions directly in core ICS elements, such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). The objectives of this Phase II effort include: 1) Develop a PFP monitor prototype for ICS by integrating commercially available components, 2) Develop the necessary software tools to support ICS monitoring, and 3) Validate the prototype using representative ICS platforms used in critical infrastructure. At the end of Phase II, the prototype PFP monitor will be demonstrated detecting malicious intrusions in blind tests, serving as stepping stone to bring this technology into commercialization. The broader/commercial impact of this project is the development of an innovative cyber security solution for ICS in critical infrastructure. PFP can prevent well-funded adversaries from compromising critical systems without being discovered. The PFP monitor can assess the integrity of core elements in ICSs for which there are no commercial solutions available. PFP can be applied to embedded platforms and can coexist with traditional cyber security solutions adding an extra layer of protection in a defense-in-depth approach. These characteristics make PFP a powerful tool for detecting sophisticated covert attacks to ICS, such as the recent Stuxnet worm. Traditional cyber security approaches, such as anti-virus and firewalls, are being adapted for ICS with very limited success. Thus, PFP addresses a growing need to secure ICSs in critical infrastructure and directly monitor their execution. PFP has dual application in the commercial and government markets, particularly for resource-constrained and embedded platforms. PFP has the potential to become a fundamental player in cyber-security by protecting the nation?s infrastructure and promoting further development of the economic base and employment."
SBIR Phase II: Interactive 3-D Technical Illustrations for Science and Engineering,1256419,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,2,489660.00,Arqball LLC,227 Monte Vista Avenue,,Charlottesville,VA,22903-4118,No,No,No,Michael Holroyd,,7579441132,michael@arqball.com,Michael Holroyd,,7579441132,michael@arqball.com,"The innovation in this Phase II Project will develop tools for creating, displaying, and publishing interactive 3D content. The resulting technology will empower educators, students, publishers, and businesses to easily produce interactive 3D illustrations for digital books and online education materials. A unique approach to this long-standing content creation problem centers around the use of Image-Based Modeling and Rendering (IBMR), which enables the creation of highly realistic digital 3D models using commodity smartphones instead of the complex dedicated hardware systems traditionally required. Building on technology developed during the associated Phase I Project, this research aims to: develop new algorithms for creating interactive illustrations that place fewer assumptions on the hardware used to create them, develop algorithms for extracting 3D geometry from image sequences, and develop new methods for capturing unique panoramic image sets that can be used in an educational context. The resulting technology platform will make interactive 3D content widely-accessible by significantly reducing the expertise and cost currently required during its creation. The broader/commercial impact of this project is to make user-generated 3D content part of the revolution in digital and online education by simplify the creation process and making it widely accessible to a non-technical audience. The core technology developed in this proposal has application areas spanning from education and cultural heritage to consumer marketing and advertising. This project also includes specific outreach activities that will benefit the local community while bringing the resulting technology to the attention of the wide audience that can benefit from user-generated 3D content."
Establishing BRM Polymorphisms as Predictive Biomarkers for Lung Cancer Risk,1R43AR064106-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,210419.00,Rivanna Medical,107 East Water Street,,Charlotteville,VA,22902,No,No,No,Frank W. Mauldin,,828-612-8191,wmauldin@rivannamedical.com,Frank W. Mauldin,,828-612-8191,wmauldin@rivannamedical.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite being correlated to poor health outcomes, emergency department (ED) overcrowding occurs several times per week in 90% of all EDs in the US. A primary contributor to ED overcrowding is high demand for radiology services (i.e. X-rays), which are relied upon for diagnosis of bone fractures in 7.2 million non-time- sensitive suspected bone fracture patients per year. The total financial impact of this time and resource- consuming task is estimated at more than 1.9 Bper year in the US. Ultrasound has been widely investigated as an alternative to X-ray for fracture diagnosis and assessment of treatment (i.e. fracture reduction) in the ED; however, conventional ultrasound image quality of bone anatomy is poor, has a limited field of view, and is challenging to interpret. This Phase I SBIR proposal seeks funding to test the feasibility of a portable ultrasound-based 3D bone imaging device, referred to as the FractureFinder, for diagnosis of bone fractures in the ED. Keytechnological innovations of this project include a new conformable, piston-array-based 3D imaging transducer that is technologically advanced over conventional ultrasound due to: reduced bone imaging artifact, increased field of view, and conformabilityto the shape of the patient's skin surface. Additionally, an advanced bone imaging sequence and reconstruction method is introduced that enhances delineation of bone surfaces. The long-term goal of this project is to create a compact, portable ultrasound-based 3D bone imaging system with sensitivity and specificity for bone fractures equivalent to that of digital X-ray. The Phase I hypothesis is that an ultrasound-based 3D bone imaging device can be fabricated to achieve equivalent fracture detection performance to X-ray in an ex vivo porcine tibia-fibula fracture model. A functional handheld ultrasound prototype incorporating a conformable transducer with dimensions lt 25 cm x 20 cm x 6 cm will be fabricated. Bone imaging reconstruction techniques will bedeveloped in simulation to achieve resolution lt= 200 m with sensitivity gt 99% over bone angles spanning 100 . The imaging techniques and reconstruction algorithms will be implemented on the prototype and tested in an ex vivo whole porcine tibia- fibulamodel. Research plans for Phase II include a refined prototype with industrial design and graphic user interface development for the purposes of conducting an in vivo pilot study at the University of Virginia Hospital. The proposed 3D bone imaging device is expected to speed diagnosis of bone fractures in the ED, allowing faster treatment and patient discharge without using valuable radiology resources. It is estimated that the device could save at least 6.3 million ED hours and 1.16 B to the healthcare system, annually. The fully saturated US emergency medicine market for the FractureFinder is estimated at 120 M in revenues per year. Additional applications for the product include rural healthcare, sports medicine, battlefield, and orthopedic, the latterof which has an estimated fully saturated US market of 209 M/yr. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Despite being correlated to poor health outcomes, emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a frequent problem in United States hospitals, with high demand for radiology services (i.e. X-ray fracture diagnosis) representing a major contributing factor. Although medical ultrasound is an alternative to X-ray for fracture diagnosis and assessment of treatment that could potentially reduce cost, wait times, and radiation exposure, conventional ultrasound suffers from poor bone image quality, a limited field of view, and image interpretation challenges. The long-term goal of this project is to develop and commercialize a compact ultrasound-based 3D bone imaging system with sensitivity and specificity for bone fracture detection substantially equivalent to digital X-ray, with potential savings of at least 6. million hrs/yr in ED waiting time and 1.16 billion/yr to the US healthcare system."
"SBIR Phase II: Safe, Portable, Non-ionizing Bone Imaging with an Ultrasound-based X-ray Replacement Device",1329651,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,2,750000.00,Rivanna Medical,107 East Water Street,,Charlotteville,VA,22902,No,No,No,Frank W. Mauldin,,8286128191,wmauldin@rivannamedical.com,Frank W. Mauldin,,8286128191,wmauldin@rivannamedical.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the clinical and market need for an X-ray replacement technology that is portable, low-cost, and safe. While X-ray is the current dominant modality for diagnostic imaging of bone anatomy, it possesses many limitations: emission of radiation, bulky, and expensive. In the Phase I project, we demonstrated feasibility of the technology with a handheld ultrasound prototype, which demonstrated 3D freehand bone imaging using an ex vivo whole pig lumbar spine model. Phase II research objectives include: 1) Design and build a preproduction ultrasound prototype; 2) Develop a model registration-based 3D bone imaging application and release a clinical software version with formal verification and validation testing; and 3) Prepare the device for clinical use with human subjects and experimentally validate in an ex vivo porcine lumbar spine model with physician testing. It is anticipated that this project will result in the demonstration of a new medical device with demonstrated efficacy for improved administration of spinal anesthesia via 3D portable real-time spinal bone imaging. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is an X-ray replacement technology based on medical ultrasound, which addresses market segments including spinal anesthesia, orthopedic, and emergency medicine. Rivanna Medical is targeting the spinal anesthesia market first because of the compelling market and clinical need. Due to lack of availability of safe, portable, and inexpensive medical imaging for bone anatomy, these procedures currently exhibit high first-attempt failure rates. Failures result in poor patient outcomes and higher costs for health care providers. In this application, our lead device, the SpineFinder, would improve success rates via real-time guidance of spinal injections at the patient?s bedside. The societal impact of a safe, inexpensive, portable bone imaging products includes more successful procedures, better patient outcomes, and lower healthcare costs. Additionally, the public would benefit by an overall reduction in ionizing radiation exposure from X-ray and a subsequent reduction in cancers. The general scientific and technological understanding of acoustics will be enhanced through this project by a better understanding of ultrasound interactions with specular reflecting surfaces, such as bone."
Computer assisted clinical decision support tool for management of statins,1R43HL117553-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,199723.00,"ALGORITHMRX, LLC",7400 BEAUFONT SPRINGS DRIVE,SUITE 300,NORTH CHESTERFIELD,VA,23225-5519,No,No,No,Duff Young,,,duff.young@algorithmRx.com,Stephen Hutcherson,,,hutch@visionairx.biz,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hypercholesterolemia (particularly low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C)) is a major, modifiable risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), the primary cause of death in the US. Today, an estimated 41 million people in the US are hypercholesterolemia and 75% of these 41 million people take one of seven statin drugs that are remarkably effective in reducing elevated LDL-C and cardiovascular morbidity. However, nearly 55% of statin-treated patients do not achieve target LDL-C levels during the first year of treatment, resulting in preventable mortality and unnecessary health care costs. The most important barrier to achieving target LDL-C levels is the inability to deliver real-time recommendations for optimized statin treatment synthesized from large, evidence-based datasets. In the absence of such decision support, clinicians must choose statins arbitrarily and titrate doses over a prolonged period, generating preventable costs. Preliminary research in a VA hospital setting indicates that Statin Manager (SM), a patent-pending computerized, electronic health care record (EHR)-based algorithm can predict with high accuracy the probability of achieving target LDL-C levels. Using multivariate logistic regression models based on individual patient characteristics, including concomitant clinical conditions and medications, Statin Manager predicts the probability that target LDL-C levels will be achieved by specific statins at specific doses. SM ensuresthat the right statin, in the right dosage, is prescribed for each patient at the beginning of the treatment regimen. Further development, extension, and commercialization of the statin management algorithm is envisioned to reduce the high cost, extended time and frequent frustration of experimentation to achieve target LDL-C levels, potentially reduce side effects, improve treatment adherence and ultimately reduce the resultant risk of ASCVD associated with elevated LDL-C. The economic savings associated with improved healthcare for ASCVD outcomes is estimated in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the US alone. The first aim of this Phase I study uses a sample of ~201,000 statin-treated patients in a regional VA healthcare network toconfirm the precision (reliability) of SM in predicting achievement of LCL-C goal by selecting the most efficacious statin and dose to achieve targeted LDL-C levels. We will also explore extension of the algorithm to include statin-related and emergent adverse events potentially impacting optimal statin and dose selection. The second aim is to determine the internal (predictive) validity of SM using data from all statin- treated patients (~5,000,000) in VA's national Corporate Data Warehouse. We will compare LDL-C levels achieved over a broad range of prescribed statins and doses with those predicted by SM. Upon completion of Phase I, SM will have been further validated in two large retrospective EHR studies, thus positioning SM for a prospective, externalvalidation study in Phase II. Ultimately, SM will be designed to meet the requirements of major integrated healthcare systems for inclusion as an embedded application in their EHR system-wide. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This research will further develop Statin Manager, a real-time, computer-assisted, EHR-based clinical decision support tool to accurately identify the best statin and starting dose for personalized treatment of high cholesterol for the millions of patients who do not achieve target levels of LDL-C in the first year of treatment."
Development of Gravitational Radiation Technology for Military Applications,W911QX-13-C-0126,DOD,DOD,STTR,2013,1,95285.00,"SciX3, LLC",6154 McLendon Court,,Alexandria,VA,-,No,No,No,Mark Antholt,Chief Operating Officer,(201) 232-6958,mantholt@scix3.com,Jt Thomas,Senior Scientist,(703) 868-9372,jthomas@scix3.com,Gravitational radiation is detected by its effect of rotating the polarization vectors of a high number N of entangled photons exhibiting quantum nonlinear geometric phase and the Klyshko effect for NOON states in a Michelson interferometer. The gravitati
Advanced Materials and Methods for Biospecimen Collection for Infectious Disease,D13PC00036,DOD,DARPA,STTR,2013,1,99787.00,"Ceres Nanosciences, LLLP",10900 University Blvd.,,Manassas,VA,-,No,No,No,Ross Dunlap,CEO,(800) 615-0418,rdunlap@ceresnano.com,Amos Freedy,President,(800) 615-0418,blepene@ceresnano.com,"There is an urgent need for simple, reliable and effective tools for improved biospecimen collection, preservation and extraction of low-abundance analytes for improved detection and diagnostic assays. To address the DoD's need for clinical and field deployable biospecimen collection materials for infectious diseases, Ceres Nanosciences (Ceres) in collaboration with GMU's National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases propose to develop rapid Nanotrap extraction methods and ambient temperature storage solutions for improved collection and recovery of respiratory viruses. In Phase I, Ceres will build upon successful preliminary results, which demonstrate Nanotrap-enabled sequestration, concentration and nearly complete yield of fully infectious respiratory viruses, by optimizing key Nanotrap architecture parameters, extraction methods and collection protocols. A prototype field kit for live virus capture will be produced and performance data will be collected for at least four common respiratory infections."
Rapidly Adaptable Nanotherapeutics,W911QX-13-C-0071,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,1231356.00,Techulon,2200 Kraft Drive,Suite 2475,Blacksburg,VA,-,No,No,No,Brett Malone,President,(540) 250-1628,brett.malone@techulon.com,Josh Bryson,Principle Scientist,(540) 443-9254,josh.bryson@techulon.com,"Infections caused by drug resistant bacteria create a $30b problem for the healthcare industry. Techulon has developed a Rapidly Adaptable NanoTherapeutic (RANT) approach to address this problem, which utilizes genomic targeting, on-demand synthesis, and nanotherapeutic delivery. Component feasibility studies conducted during Phase I demonstrated successful targeting and inhibition levels in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a pervasive infectious bacteria acquired in hospitals and problematic for military wound healing. The Phase II work is designed to demonstrate in vivo validation of Techulon's nanotherapeutic platform by establishing safety parameters and demonstrating efficacy in murine-infection models. Optimizing the response time of RANT is emphasized in the study plan. The research objectives for Phase II include system integration of proven components and developing agents against other pernicious infections in military hospitals, including Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to demonstrate the platform flexibility. Regulatory approval strategy is being developed and deployable-GMP production requirements will be established. Commercialization opportunities have been identified and the company has secured funds to address transition of the technology to broad military applications such as wound healing and burn trauma. The platform is also applicable to homeland defense applications such as unknown bio-terror threats. Commercial opportunities include clinical applications for hospital infections."
Data Collection Environment for Cooperative Information Sharing,W911QX-13-C-0173,DOD,DARPA,SBIR,2013,2,455682.00,"IST Research, LLC.",3006 Lafayette Blvd,,Fredericksburg,VA,22408-,No,No,No,Michael Medina,Chief Financial Officer,(540) 735-0768,michael.medina@istresearch.com,Ryan Paterson,President&CEO,(540) 446-0808,ryan.paterson@istresearch.com,"The future of conflict, crisis, and development will rely on high-resolution data at every stage of assessment, guidance, and evaluation of projects. Aggregate 30,000 foot statistics are no longer sufficient for sophisticated and efficient project planning and management. A new data collection interface is needed, with tools for determining information needs, stating questions, and administering data collection. Dynamic and evolving environments require similarly agile collection methods to for effective intervention. Recent operations have shown that effective two-way information sharing relationships with populations in developing nations can lead to highly effective outcomes. What is needed is are tools that make it possible for operators to begin an information collection campaign from any device (computer, tablet, smart phone, dumb phone), launch collections across multiple modalities, and back end single consistent data structure prepared to receive, normalize and visualize collected information."
Reducing Bandwidth Requirements for Cybersecurity Information Exchanges,N66001-13-P-5133,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,78256.00,"D-Tech, LLC","13800 Coppermine Road, Suite 300",,Herndon,VA,20171-6163,No,No,No,Joyce Chen,Contract Administrator,(703) 552-0881,jchen@dtechspace.com,Aaron Weikle,Sr. Software Architect,(304) 268-8398,aweikle@dtechspace.com,"One of the biggest challenges in network and application surveillance is how to deal with huge amount of sensor and scanning data generated from various devices, as more federal agencies and organizations are continuing expending their networks. The feed of the monitoring and scanning data often rely on the same network for delivery, so large amount of monitoring data could also cause network congestion if the surveillance tools and processes were not configured properly, especially for networks with limited capacity and bandwidth. In this SBIR research, D-Tech is proposing an innovative solution to address the data overflow problems between a CSIRT center and a network management node. We will leverage the latest cyber security standards, encoding/compression technologies, and industry best practices. We will investigate existing cybersecurity standards and data minimization technologies, and deliver an architecture design for a software tool called Security Content Transponder (SCT) for facilitating real-time security management and incident reporting, utilizing various data minimization techniques, and advanced data compression using the Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) standard. We will perform a comprehensive design of the SCT during base period, and implement a SCT prototype during option period as a proof of concepts for subsequent development in Phase II."
Applying Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) to non SOAP protocols,FA8750-13-C-0029,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,728705.00,"D-Tech, LLC","13800 Coppermine Road, Suite 300",,Herndon,VA,20171-6163,No,No,No,Joyce Chen,Contract Administrator,(703) 552-0881,jchen@dtechspace.com,Nick Duan,Chief Technology Officer,(703) 574-5837,nduan@dtechspace.com,"ABSTRACT: In Phase II, D-Tech plans to continue our success from Phase I by enhancing the existing prototype product with the latest Identity Management and Access Control (IdAM) technologies. We will implement the latest IdAM standards (i.e. OpenID Connect and XACML) in our product to enable advanced functions, including delegate access, policy-driven ABAC, and identity federation. By creating the necessary IdAM core services, a service-oriented IdAM environment can be established to support cross-domain interoperability and extensibility. We will integrate our IdAM solution with existing DoD/IC software application frameworks, including the DCGS DIB and the Ozone Widget Framework (OWF), to demonstrate real mission support. We will continue solidifying our product strength with enhanced enterprise and mobile capabilities, as well as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for cloud security, to ensure operational readiness and product commercialization. We have formed a top-notch R & D team for this effort based on our core team from Phase I. With the help of our business consultant, we will be able to start our marketing and business development effort to promote our product and solutions to customers. By collaborating with our AF stakeholders closely, the D-Tech team is confident in completing Phase II successfully, with technology innovations and quality deliverables. BENEFIT: Benefits: - Provide the DoD and other government agencies with lightweight IdAM technologies for information assurance and cyber security - Establish a approach and best practices in achieving enterprise-wide cross-domain interoperability of identities and attributes, as well as IdAM SaaS capabilities for cloud security - Gain valuable knowledge and experience in various technologies and best practices, with the potential of enhancing related open industry standards, and contributing the knowledge back to the DoD and the IT security community via publications and conference presentations based on our research findings - Generate new intellectual properties out of this research if such opportunities arise Potential Commercial Applications: - Government agencies and large corporations using the Identity Provider solution to consolidate and streamline user identity management and to provide centralized user authentication - Government agencies and online Service Provider to use SAML attribute service to provide trust services (e.g. Secure Token Service) for RESTful applications - Government agencies and online Service provider to use OpenID /OpenID connect based solution for cross-domain identity federation and access control - Government agencies and online service providers to operate IdAM operations in a cloud environment - Mobile Service Provider to use lightweight protocol to perform user access control in difference mobile platforms"
Phase II Commercialization of Continuous Countercurrent Tangential Chromatography,1R43GM106495-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,316867.00,"SPHYNKX THERAPEUTICS, LLC",1632 MEADOWBROOK HEIGHTS RD,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-3001,No,No,No,Andrew Bolt,,617-270-1170,abolt@sphynkxtherapeutics.com,Steven B. Thorpe,,703-850-7206,bthorpe@sphynkxtherapeutics.com,"DESCRIPTION: Vascular leak is a hallmark of tissue injury, and results in the movement of plasma into the interstitium where immune mediators and clotting factors invade the injured tissue. Left to persist, vascular leak can exacerbate inflammation and lead to a chronic and abnormal wound healing response. Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a pleiotropic lipid mediator that circulates in the bloodstream where it tonically enhances vascular barrier integrity. S1P is synthesized by sphingosine kinase, which exists as two isotypes (SphK1 and SphK2). Recently, SphynKx Therapeutics discovered an excellent lead SphK2 selective inhibitor that has been validated to inhibit the enzyme in vivo using changes in circulating S1P level as the biomarker of target engagement. Perhaps counterintuitive, this lead SphK2 inhibitor causes circulating S1P levels to nearly double when given to mice with both SphK1 and SphK2 alleles (i.e., wild type mice). This result might seem odd until one considers that blood S1P levels in SphK2 null mice are 2-3 times higher than in wild type littermates (and about 6-fold higher than in SphK1 null littermates). Given this finding, we hypothesize that raising blood S1P levels through SphK2 inhibition will improve endothelial barrier function and halt or slow the progression of diseases with a significant leak component. More specifically, we are focused on exploring the therapeutic utility of our SphK2 inhibitors to treat tissue fibrosis, where vascular leak results in a constant influx of pro-fibrotic mediators that cause abnormal wound healing. Although promising, SphynKx's lead SphK2 inhibitor must be optimized further to advance this molecule into further proof-of-concept testing and conduct investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies. Inparticular, this project seeks to improve the potency and isotype selectivity of this compound towards SphK2 over SphK1. Therefore, the goal of our project is (aim 1) to optimize the structure of the lead compound using medicinal chemistry, (aim 2) characterize candidate compounds using an algorithm that includes in vitro target screens and in vivo pharmacokinetics, and finally (aim 3) evaluate the ability of select compounds to protect against vascular leak and attenuate fibrosis in two mouse models of kidney fibrosis. If we are successful, our investigations will have validated SphK2 as a drug target in vascular leak and fibrosis, and delivered an optimized lead SphK2 inhibitor for further pre-clinical development. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Nearly 45% of deaths in the United States can be attributed to disorders with a significant fibrotic component, yet, as of this application, there are no FDA-approved therapies to treat tissue fibrosis. Sphingosine 1-phosphate is a bioactive lipid that is widely recognized as a key regulator of many of the cellular processes that promote inflammation, wound healing, and fibrogenesis. The proposed studies are aimed at developing drug-like sphingosine kinase 2 inhibitors and investigatingwhether modulation of S1P with these compounds might be an effective therapeutic strategy for treating tissue fibrosis."
SBIR Phase I: Low-cost Reflectometer,1315212,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,149252.00,CP-Instruments LLC,300 Ringgold Industrial Parkway,,Danville,VA,24540-5548,No,No,Yes,Phil Couch,,5402390668,phil@cp-instruments.com,Phil Couch,,5402390668,phil@cp-instruments.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will allow the development of a new optoelectronic component, to allow improved installation, maintenance and critical network monitoring. This new optical component is a key building block in providing platform technology for new fiber optic sensors and instrumentation at a dramatically lower cost. This novel technology will open new markets not addressed by current instruments typically having much lower resolution, and higher costs. Specifically, the new optoelectronic component will be designed to produce new optical instruments that are both low-cost, and high-resolution. In this development effort, a demonstration of the new optical component will be built and optimized and characterized for several telecommunications markets, such as installation and maintenance of fiber to home, real-time monitoring of networks within data centers and other critical infrastructure for our nation. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project provides for new optical communications testing equipment to enable maintenance of critical optical networks promptly and inexpensively. This project will help to cost-effectively ensure the availability, reliability and security of the optical networks on which our nation increasingly depends. Specific commercial opportunities include: energy generation and distribution, aerospace and other mobile platforms, high speed computing high speed optical fiber data transmission to support teraflop/s and higher computing speed, and hand held and integrated fiber optic (FO) telecommunications health monitoring systems. This technology supports the installation, testing, and operations of optical systems for these markets. For the energy market, applications include low-cost high-resolution sensing and communication systems for down-hole and processing facilities as well as wind turbines sensing and communication of fiber optic networks on airplanes, ships, and other mobile platforms providing for safer, more efficient transportation systems of the future. In telecommunications, FO systems are gaining market acceptance and are being installed in neighborhoods, office buildings, fiber-to-the-home, local area networks, and wide area networks. This optoelectronic component will be the building block for new optical interrogation instruments providing customers with a FO testing solution option at an affordable price."
Search and Rescue Initial Response Tools,HSHQDC-13-C-00107,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2013,1,99999.59,dbS Productions LLC,1808 Rugby Pl,,Charlottesville,VA,22903-1625,No,No,Yes,Robert J. Koester,,,Robert@dbs-sar.com,Robert J. Koester,,,Robert@dbs-sar.com,"This proposal doubles the size of the International Search and Rescue Incident Database (ISRID) from 50,000 to over 100,000 SAR incidents organized
by incident type, subject category, terrain, ecoregion domain, and population density. The PI brings over 30 years of SAR field experience and over 20
years of SAR research experience to the problem including experience in creating ISRID. At the start the TRL is 3 and at the end of Phase I we
estimate 4-5. The enhanced database with new data will provide the needed information to provide new models to predict the probability of area (POA)
of missing people. Sending teams to the right area saves lives, resources, and time. New research into combining geographic models of behavior along
with effective sweep width and searcher velocity will allow the calculation of Probability of Success Rate. This underlying factor along with initial
response tasking algorithm will allow a graphic display of not only exactly where initial search teams should be tasked plus show the relative priority of
tasks. This will allow the power of formal search theory to be placed into the hands of initial responders with little to no formal training. The research
and development will allow a full suite of products to be developed. From durable plastic job aids, Lost Person Behavior smartphone Apps, paper and
e-book field guides, training courses, to software aimed at the initial SAR response we are in a unique position to commercialize the effort, since SAR is
our primary market since 1991."
SBIR Phase I: Nanomanufacturing process simulation and design,1315326,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"Nanofoundry, LLC",P.O. Box 6061,,Glen Allen,VA,23058-6061,No,No,No,Everett Carpenter,,8043602701,everett.carpenter2@gmail.com,Everett Carpenter,,8043602701,everett.carpenter2@gmail.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses challenges in producing an industrially-feasible alternative to rare-earth-based magnets. Rare earths comprise over 65% of all magnets in use today, which are sourced almost exclusively from China, and their production poses serious environmental concerns. While small samples of exotic materials can be produced in labs, this project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of producing a viable material at industrial volumes. The project addresses this challenge from two fronts: by evaluating a manufacturing scheme that is new to this class of material (magnets), and by producing a new type of material. The process innovation is the establishment of supercritical conditions in a continuous flow technology using a technology called ?microreactors?. This enhancement enables the manufacturing of difficult-to-stabilize nanoparticles at industrial scales by eliminating problems related to alternative formulations and facilitates the refinement of the final product. The second innovation is the discovery of a new ferromagnetic material based upon nanoscale cobalt carbide particles. The combination of the process with the product results in a material with superior cost performance compared to that of rare earth magnets in a wide range of applications. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the future mitigation of supply and pricing risk in the magnet supply chain due to an imminent shortage of rare earths. Further, this innovation is expected to prove disruptive to existing global markets, will help reinvigorate the US manufacturing industry by creating skilled jobs on US soil, and will help offset the environmental impact associated with the mining and refinement of rare earths. The magnet described herein will be a price-competitive alternative to all commercial magnet types, including rare earth magnets, in a number of applications. In the short term, it will help absorb unmet demand arising from the rare earth shortage. In the long term, it should penetrate a wide range of markets. The total global market for this product is on the order of several hundred million dollars. Finally, by reducing the reliance on rare earth materials, this magnet alleviates national security risks associated with shortages in Chinese sources for rare earths. The research will extend the use of an existing technology-microreactors-to make completely new materials, thus building a basis for new production technologies and making feasible new materials categories."
Innovative Removal of Nitrate and Nitrites from Contaminated Well Water,2013-00441,USDA,USDA,SBIR,2013,1,99357.00,Micronic Technologies,"201 Davis Dr. , Unit E",,Sterling,VA,20164-4416,Yes,No,No,Karen Sober,Executive Chair,703-444-2011,ksorber@micronictechnologies.com,William E. Roper,Project Director,703-444-2011,wroper@micronictechnologies.com,"Micronic Technologies has developed a patent pending low-pressure, low-temperature, rapid evaporation technology to treat contaminated water. This technology uses no chemicals, filters, or membranes in a low-pressure system a blower and a chambered cylinder to produce a tornado effect that creates micro-droplets of water for rapid evaporation and recapture after dissolved solids are shed. It is low cost and highly efficient while producing minimal waste volume for disposal. Preliminary testing has indicated effective removal of heavy metals and other contaminants, including nitrates, phosphorous and bacteria. The proposed research will determine the reliability and reproducibility of removing nitrates from well water. These contaminants create significant issues for water resources impacted by agricultural operations. Preliminary results have shown the removal of nitrates and nitrites below 0.4 mg/L. A goal of the research is to conduct more robust testing from a variety of wells in an agricultural setting located in Southern Delaware that are known to be contaminated with nitrates. Phase I of this SBIR will involve the treatment of water samples on the bench prototype unit in the lab. Phase II will site a pilot system in the field and test for a wider suite of contaminants at a client site. This research will be conducted in cooperation with Tidewater Utilities and the State of Delawares Office of Drinking Water. This research will benefit the agricultural community by providing a low cost, highly efficient technology to remove pollutants commonly associated with agricultural operations. This aids in meeting increased regulatory requirements on Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) as well as demonstrating the agricultural industrys commitment to reduce nutrient pollution."
TOPIC 322 PHASE 1; REAL TIME INTEGRATION OF SENSOR AND SELF REPORT DATA FOR CLINI,N43CA130056,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,198824.00,Vignet Inc.,12015 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway,Suite 130,Fairfax,VA,22033,Yes,Yes,No,Praduman Jain,,703-926-8754,PJ@VIGNETCORP.COM,Praduman Jain,,703-926-8754,PJ@VIGNETCORP.COM,"This proposal was submitted under the SBIR Fast-track process. In Phase I, the primary purpose is to develop a sensor-enhanced health information system for many different health contexts including prevention and management of chronic diseases such as cancers. In Phase II, Vignet will combine several innovative technologies and methods into a comprehensive, integrated, end-to-end sensor-enhanced deliverable. Vignet proposal is to develop a commercial-ready, secure, HIPAA compliant, scalable sensor-enhancedhealth information system for many different health contexts including prevention and management of chronic diseases, behavioral health issues and substance abuse. This patient-centered system will utilize many existing Vignet technologies to combine wearable wireless sensors, mobile phones, mobile messaging, web technologies, cloud-based server platforms and various self-reported methods into an integrated product. This system will include several evidence-based methods of objective and self-reported EMAdata collection in a scalable, secure cloud server, real-time data transparency, customizable data visualizations and engagement of patients, caregivers and loved ones. Providers and researchers frequently treat patients with complex co-morbidities, multiple medications, and a wide array of physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms. This sensor-enhanced system will inform decisions and generate valuable insights. Data visualizations and analytical tools can then transform the multi-variable datasets into knowledge and insights. This secure system is expected to benefit consumer health, clinical care and research by improving the quality of care and empowering patients to take more control over their own health. Vignet has already received an early evidenceof commercial interest from its partners namely University of North Carolina and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE"
MASS CASUALTY TRIAGE SYSTEM (MCATS),HSHQDC-13-C-00087,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2013,1,92543.34,InCadence Strategic Solutions,"10432 Balls Ford Road, Suite 120",,Manassas,VA,20109-2515,Yes,No,No,Anthony Iasso,,,anthony@incadencecorp.com,Anthony Iasso,,,anthony@incadencecorp.com,"For InCadence's SBIR Phase I effort for the Mass Casualty Triage System (MCATS) we will analyze the Management of Mass Casualty Triage
problem set in the context of an end-to-end Solution Framework. The Solution Framework identifies key enablers of the overall solution including:
Tagging or Identifying Victims; Support for one or more Mobile Hardware Platforms and Operating Systems; Design of the End User Application;
Interface with one or more Sensors or Readers; Communications Options; Protocol Interoperability; Aggregation and Visualization of Casualty Status;
and Back-end Server and Portal Options. For each enabler will evaluate options for the enabler in terms of: Cost Effectiveness, Universal
Deployability, Ease of Use and Practicality. InCadence will repurpose components our several of our government-funded development efforts to
rapidly prototype, evaluate and demonstrate proposed components of the end system. Repurposed components may come from our web-based nearreal
time Tactical Rapid Exploitation Portal (T-REX), our Multilingual Automated Registration System (MARS) which includes mobile biometric
technology for fingerprint and iris collection and matching, and our Axon Cloud Broker for deploying and managing back-end server-based web
services on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. The final objective of our Phase I effort will be one or more feasible, effective Solution Paths
for the end-to-end prototype MCATS that InCadence will produce during the Phase II effort. Our objective is to commercialize the objective system
and its components for sale to first responder agencies. We will also pursue DHS SECURE Certification for the resulting product."
Direct Digital Secondary Electron Signal Acquisition Probe for Scanning Electron Microscope.,DE-FG02-13ER90628,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2013,1,155000.00,"SCIENCETOMORROW, LLC",PO Box 7562,,Woodbridge,VA,-,No,No,No,Jyoti Agrawal,Dr.,,jyoti.agrawal@sciencetomorrow.com,Subhadarshi Nayak,Dr.,7038806622,nayak@sciencetomorrow.biz,"Research is proposed to investigate the feasibility of applying recent advances in semiconductor technology to fabricate direct digital Quantitative Secondary Electron Detectors (QSED) for scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). If successful, commercial versions of the QSED would transform the SEM/STEM into a quantitative, metrological tool with enhanced capabilities that, in turn, would broaden research horizons across many industries. Conducted in collaboration with Dr. David C Joy, at the University of Tennessee, the detector will be fabricated and tested for sensitivities, noise reduction, DC offset elimination, and metrological capabilities (linearity, accuracy, etc.) against a set of commercially important performance criteria to ascertain feasibility. Once feasibility is proven, the solid state digital device array and its switching frequency will be scaled-up, in Phase II, to improve temporal resolution. If successful, this work will produce a crucial advancement in electron microscopy with wide-ranging applications. Key advantages anticipated from this work: 1. Low noise will improve SEM resolution in nano-scale critical for dimensional metrology. 2. Quantitative measurement will enhance process control, improve reliability prediction and design validation in semiconductors, photo-voltaic, bio-medical devices and catalysts. 3. Video and dynamic-imaging will advance nano-scale research in pharmaceutical and semiconductor. 4. Lower cost will make high-performing electron microscopes affordable to more researchers. 5. Compact size and ease of integration will enable to retrofit and upgrade existing SEM/STEMs. In private briefings on this concept, this QSED idea has generated enthusiastic interest among a number of SEM makers, service companies and existing SEM users who have also offered to support ST in this project. The proposed QSED advance sits squarely in the middle of ScienceTomorrows mission and, if successful, will further the companys business strategy by launching an advanced, high-margin product that will enable the company and its partners to create at least 17 net-new jobs by the end of 2018."
Rapid Fabrication of SiCf/SiC composite via Field Assisted Sintering Technique for Turbine Applications,N00014-13-P-1130,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79801.00,"SCIENCETOMORROW, LLC",PO Box 7562,,Woodbridge,VA,-,No,No,No,Jyoti Agrawal,CEO,(703) 880-6622,jyoti.agrawal@sciencetomorrow.biz,Subhadarshi Nayak,CTO,(877) 203-7673,nayak@sciencetomorrow.biz,"State-of-the-art manufacturing cost for SiC matrix composites CMC components is still very high due to long lead times despite of many research efforts. ScienceTomorrow, in collaboration with Applied Research Lab of Penn State University and its OEM partners, will investigate ceramic fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite fabrication via a novel field assisted sintering technique. Under the concurrent application of high pulsed current density, pressure and temperature the green structure will be consolidated. Processing-microstructure-properties relationships will be established first empirically during the Base Period and numerically in the option period to allow complete exploitation of the benefits of the novel processing approaches. The research will utilize multi-scale material characterization and integrated multi-scale multi-physics computational modeling for developing processing-properties-structure correlation. The success criteria are set in comparison to current fabrication methods: (a) Chemical Vapor Infiltration, (b) Melt Infiltration, and (c) Polymer Impregnation Pyrolysis. ScienceTomorrow will collaborate with an OEM for process optimization and commercialization that will allow the OEM to exploit the benefits of the FAST processing method for SiCf/SiC turbine components. Ultimately, the FAST process will enable the production of more affordable 2700°F capable CMCs."
BOND-M: Bond Observation and Non-Destructive Measurement Technique,W911QX-13-C-0036,DOD,DARPA,SBIR,2013,1,99863.00,"SCIENCETOMORROW, LLC",PO Box 7562,,Woodbridge,VA,-,No,No,No,Jyoti Agrawal,President,(877) 203-7673,jyoti.agrawal@sciencetomorrow.biz,Subhadarshi Nayak,Chief Technology Officer,(877) 203-7673,nayak@sciencetomorrow.biz,"ScienceTomorrow proposes to develop a novel Bond Observation and Non-Destructive Measurement (BOND-M) technique for measuring bond strength of adhesively joined composites. BOND-M will employ high-intensity focused ultrasound stress waves directed at a small region within the adhesive layer to rapidly proof test the bond while simultaneously observing for bond damage and defects and verifying successful bonding. The BOND-M device, positioned on a surface, can steer the focused beam to proof test the bond at multiple locations deep inside or on the edge of the composite structure. By traversing the device parallel to the longer dimension of a composite primary structure, entire bond-joints can be tested rapidly. Local quantitative bond strength measurement can be used for process control and monitoring. Validation of the bond strength measurement will be accomplished by employing a destructive method on identical samples. BOND-M measurement with a statistical sampling scheme will enable rapid aviation certification while maintaining the structural integrity of composites and helping to prevent surprise failures."
Development of a point of care diagnostic to guide efficient usage of blood produ,2R44HL103030-02A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,2241062.00,"HemoSonics, LLC",400 Preston Avenue,Suite 250,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,-,No,No,No,Francesco Viola,,434-202-1032,fviola@hemosonics.com,Francesco Viola,,434-202-1032,fviola@hemosonics.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Problem: Over 60% of the 600,000 patients undergoing cardio-pulmonary bypass (CPB) procedures in the US each year experience excessive bleeding, which requires transfusions of blood products. There are four treatment options available, each corresponding to a specific hemostatic defect: (a) fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to correct the plasma coagulation factors, (b) platelet concentrate to restore platelets, (c) cryoprecipitate to restore fibrinogen, and (d) anti-fibrinolytics to slow the activity of the clot-dissolving proteins. However, clinical literature strongly indicates that morbidity and mortality risks increase in a dose-dependent way with increased use of blood products. It has been estimated that each unit transfused increases the post-operative odds of severe infection by 76%, cardiac morbidity by 55%, neurological morbidity by 39%, and overall in- hospital mortality by 77%. Furthermore post-operative length of stay increases by 0.82 days per unit transfused.Meanwhile, targeted use of these products can produce savings of up to 4M/year per hospital. Unfortunately, there is no global test of hemostasis available at the point of care (POC), which is able to provide rapid results about the best treatment option. The tests that are available at POC can't provide the required information, even if used in combination. Thus, current clinical practice is iterative transfusion of blood products and subjective evaluation of bleeding. This process is slow and prone to over transfusions, resulting in increased risk of worsened outcomes and unnecessary expenses. HemoSonics' Proposed Solution: HemoSonics LLC is developing a POC instrument, the Global Hemostasis Analyzer (GHA) that can quantify the function of the four hemostatic components, enabling correct selection of treatment. The GHA is based on sonorheometry (SR), a novel technology able to assess not only time to clot (dependent upon the plasma coagulation factors) but also clot formation rate (dependent upon fibrinogen), clot stiffness (dependent upon fibrinogen and platelets), and time to lysis (dependent upon clot-dissolving proteins). The GHA will help: (i) the surgical team administer the correct treatment, (ii) the hospital save costs by reducing unnecessary transfusions, (iii) the blood bank save blood products, and, most importantly, (iv) improve patient care. Proposed SBIR Work: In Phase I, we successfully completed demonstration of the feasibility of SR to measure the function of the four hemostatic components. In Phase II, we intend to finalize prototype development and evaluate its performance in CPB, in order to test the hypothesis that SR can provide information that will aid in minimizing unnecessary transfusions, reducing overall healthcare spending andimproving patient outcomes. Furthermore, data obtained in these studies will be utilized for FDA regulatory approval. This research is a collaborative effort between HemoSonics, the University of Virginia Department of Biomedical Engineering and School ofMedicine, and Medical College of Virginia (Virginia Commonwealth University). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Clinical evidence strongly indicates that improved management of bleeding with targeted use of blood products can reduce morbidity and mortality risks while producing significant cost savings. It has been estimated that each unit of blood products transfused increases the post-operative odds of severe infection by 76%, cardiac morbidity by 55%, neurological morbidity by39% and overall in-hospital mortality by 77%. Post-operative length of stay also increases by 0.82 days per unit transfused. Meanwhile, targeted use of these products can produce savings of up to 4M/year per hospital. Unfortunately, management of bleedingremains suboptimal due to the limitations of current diagnostic tests. The goal of this proposal is to develop a novel point-of-care (POC) diagnostic instrument that will improve the current management of bleeding and usage of blood products, thus improving patients' outcomes and generating substantial cost savings."
STTR Phase I: High-Yield Hydrogen Production from Biomass Sugars by Cell-Free Biosystems for Mobile Electricity Generation,1321528,NSF,NSF,STTR,2013,1,225000.00,Cell-Free Bioinnovations Inc.,"2200 Kraft Dr., Suite 1200B",,Blacksburg,VA,24060-6702,No,No,Yes,Tsz Kin Tam,,(315) 261-9457,tktam@cfb9.com,Tsz Kin Tam,,(315) 261-9457,tktam@cfb9.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will scale up high-yield hydrogen production from maltodextrin and water mediated by cell-free enzymatic biosystems and develop prototype mobile electricity generators (MEGs). Cell-free biosystems for biomanufacturing (CFB2) implement complicated biochemical reactions in one pot by the in vitro assembly of more than three enzymes and/or cofactors. The Co-PI at Virginia Tech has demonstrated the production of nearly theoretical yields of hydrogen from sugars (including hexoses and pentoses) and water as CH2O (sugar) + H2O 2H2 + CO2 using CFB2. In this STTR I project, Cell-Free Bioinnovations Inc. will scale up enzymatic hydrogen production from a 2-mL bioreactor (current laboratory scale) to a 5-L bioreactor and integrate this process with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack for the high-efficiency generation of electricity. These integrated systems will charge numerous portable electronics and provide emergency power at low costs. The specific objectives are (i) scale-up of recombinant thermophilic enzyme production through high-cell density fermentation, (ii) discovery and production of more high-activity and ultra-thermostable enzymes, (iii) construction of synthetic enzyme complexes (metabolons) for easy purification and fast reaction rates, (iv) further enhancement of hydrogen generation rate by three fold, and (v) demonstration of prototype MEGs. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the scale-up of enzymatic production of hydrogen, which is mainly produced from natural gas and crude oil. Its satellite production facilities and its distribution are not widely available and are too costly. In the future, the production of low-cost, green hydrogen from local, renewable biomass sugars would create biomanufacturing and agricultural jobs in the bioeconomy, lower infrastructure costs for the hydrogen economy, decrease reliance on finite fossil fuels, and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to large-scale production of economically competitive sugary hydrogen, several high-end applications are suggested for development to further improve the CFB2 platform, for example, MEGs, enzymatic fuel cells, and chiral compound synthesis. MEGs based on sugars will have some special markets. In addition, the new biotechnology platform CFB2 has unique advantages, such as higher product yields (i.e., neither by-product formation nor cell mass synthesis), greater engineering flexibility, faster reaction rates, broader reaction conditions (e.g., high temperature, low pH, organic solvent, toxic compound), and easier operation and control, compared with whole-cell fermentation. It is believed that the CFB2 platform could be used to produce jet fuels and long chain alcohols, store electricity, and fix CO2 in the future."
SBIR Phase I: Manufacturing of Next Generation Biobased Composites,1247852,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,Eastern Bioplastics LLC,PO Box 1845,,Harrisonburg,VA,22801-9500,No,Yes,No,Caleb Andrews,,5404371984,candrews@easternbioplastics.com,Caleb Andrews,,5404371984,candrews@easternbioplastics.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to research and develop bio-based materials from high performance poultry feather fiber. Protein fibers like silk and feather have high stiffness and low density, giving them density-normalized properties similar to steel. Silk has proven too costly to manufacture. Feather fiber, which has comparable properties, can be obtained easily and economically as a waste product of the poultry industry. There is a burgeoning market for bio-based plastics as manufacturers transition from 100% fossil fuel-based plastics to ones with increased bio-based content. Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) account for 54% of U.S. plastics production. Adding feather fiber to PE or PP would increase the bio-based content and properties, thus adding value to the product. The goal of this project is to create a universal feather fiber additive that can be easily shipped to customers and compounded into an existing plastic using the existing processing equipment. The specific goals of the work are to 1) further develop the company's existing feather fiber process to increase yield and 2) research methods to pelletize the feather fibers with binders to create a fiber ""concentrate"" that is amenable to existing plastics manufacturing processes. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the creation of a bio-based replacement for traditional commodity plastics that are derived from fossil fuels. The rise in fossil fuel prices, and supply concerns have created opportunities for bio-based plastics from annually renewable biological sources. Compared to traditional plastics, 100% bio-based plastics are expensive, have inferior properties, and require different processing. Market drivers are pushing manufacturers to transition to bio-based plastics incrementally, in order to obtain certification as a bio-based product. To become more integrated and to serve more markets, the intention is to create one universal feather fiber additive that can be shipped and sold to all customers. The feather fiber concentrate will allow more customers to segue to bio-based plastics, which is a market growing at 17.8% per year. This will reduce the plastic industry's reliance on fossil fuels and create more environmentally-friendly products. In addition, it will allow the re-use of an agricultural byproduct, poultry feathers, which are currently land filled or reground to feather mill."
SBIR Phase I: Fiber Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensor,1247818,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,149688.00,"Sentek Instrument, LLC",208 Spickard Street,,Blacksburg,VA,24060-1330,No,No,No,Bo Dong,,5408319693,bdong@sentekinstrument.com,Bo Dong,,5408319693,bdong@sentekinstrument.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a distributed acoustic emission monitoring technology. The new technology will provide real-time acoustic monitoring using a single fiber optic cable, distributed temperature information will also be generated simultaneously. The low physical profile renders it embeddable and minimally intrusive. The technology is designed to be low-cost, which ensures its wide-scale commercialization potential. In this Phase I research, a prototype sensor system will be built and applied to demonstrate highly sensitive acoustic detection. The focus will be on feasibility proof of the technology. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the development of a sensor technology that is highly desired in multiple industrial sectors. The potentially low-cost technology will enable large-scale deployment of the sensor to revolutionize the sensing methodology used in a number of applications. Accurate locating and quantifying of acoustic signatures will directly benefit seismic oil & gas exploration. Distributed acoustic monitoring will seek immediate implementation in multi-zone production in gas wells, heavy oil steam-assisted gravity drainage operation surveillance and flowline hydrates, scale and corrosion monitoring. Long-span, real-time acoustic monitoring also provides a viable means for pipeline health monitoring. Another beneficiary of the technology will be distributed partial discharge (PD) detection within power transformers. It is hoped that the new sensing technology will dramatically improve the operation safety while reduce the overall cost of such industries. Successful demonstration of the proposed sensing principle will also shed light on a number of other sensing applications requiring high-speed, densely-multiplexed operations."
SBIR Phase I: Real-Time Data Analytics Over The Deep Web,1248486,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,148625.00,WiseAgg,4027 Fairfax Center Hunt Tr,,Fairfax,VA,22030-8524,No,No,No,Nan Zhang,,8179039629,nzhang10@gmail.com,Nan Zhang,,8179039629,nzhang10@gmail.com,"This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the problem of real-time data analytics over deep web repositories. A major part of the deep web consists of online data repositories that are hidden behind restrictive web search interfaces and therefore cannot be effectively crawled by existing search engines such as Google. The proposed technology uses a sampling-based framework to quickly generate visible depictions of deep web analytics by issuing a small number of search requests though the existing web interfaces of deep web repositories. The specific technical objectives include the ability to 'drill into' a small subarea of interest and download the desired data with minimal query cost, as well as the ability to extract metadata information automatically from a deep web repository. The anticipated technical results are algorithms that discover the data of interest and/or metadata information after issuing a predetermined number of requests through the search interfaces of deep web repositories. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is understood by recognizing that it democratizes the market sectors of financial, political, and market analysis which would otherwise require heavy human effort and/or computing resources such as highly paid subject matter experts or servers and storage for web crawling/indexing. Instead of incurring such high costs, the proposed technology provides customers an affordable solution for the real-time aggregate analysis of multiple deep web data repositories. More broadly, real-time data analytics over the deep web is needed by knowledge workers in a wide variety of corporations, governments, and intelligence agencies. The prospects of empowering the general public with the ability to pose high-level analytical queries over the deep web, using the enhanced scientific and technological understanding achieved through this project, are tantalizing and beneficial to the entire society at large."
SBIR Phase I: Ice-release Coatings,1248831,NSF,NSF,SBIR,2013,1,150000.00,"Polymer Exploration Group, LLC",5609 Promontory Pointe Rd,,Midlothian,VA,23112-2023,No,No,No,Wei Zhang,,5402392438,wzhang@pegllc.org,Wei Zhang,,5402392438,wzhang@pegllc.org,"This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a low cost and durable ice-release coating to mitigate icing-related problems encountered by air transportation, power transmission, wind energy industries, and appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners. Current de-icing products include environmentally problematic de-icing fluids, energy inefficient electrical heating, and deicing coatings with high cost but poor mechanical toughness. The proposed coating is based on (1) a recent fundamental study that revealed a heretofore unrecognized combination of critical parameters controlling ice adhesion, (2) a novel hybrid coating model that includes nanoscale and mesoscale contributions to weakening ice adhesion, and (3) a ?soft surface / tough bulk? coating that utilizes strong mechanical properties of a conventional, low cost polymer and a low surface energy polymer modifier. The proposed coating product will reduce costs and mitigate damage to energy, communication and transportation industries as well as reducing maintenance on refrigeration appliances. ?Green chemical engineering? is targeted for minimum VOC and short chain fluorocarbon constituents that are environmentally benign. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project include (i) de-icing applications in ground and ocean transportation, such as easy ice release for automobiles and ships, and in housing to prevent ice accumulation, for example on roofs; (ii) easy release of hard fouling for ships and ocean platforms;. Potential customers include Department of Defense for US Air Force and Navy, transportation and energy industries, and the petroleum industry."
Application of CDX-MDM in Pre-Clinical Model of Murine Pulmonary Emphysema,1R41HL115965-01A1,HHS,HHS,STTR,2013,1,99674.00,"COVENANT THERAPEUTICS, LLC",1141 TURNSTONE DR,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22903-8813,No,No,No,Mikell Paige,,434-409-1881,mikellpaige@gmail.com,Mikell Paige,,202-687-5341,mikellpaige@gmail.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this proposal is to exploit a newly discovered anti-inflammatory function involving the aminopeptidase activity of the leukotriene A4 hydrolase for the treatment of pulmonary emphysema. The leukotrieneA4 hydrolase is a dual-functioning enzyme with dichotomously opposing functions. As an epoxide hydrolase, it catalyzes the conversion of leukotriene A4 to leukotriene B4 in pro-inflammatory processes. As an aminopeptidase, it catalyzes the digestion of thetripeptide sequences like Pro-Gly-Pro in anti-inflammatory processes. For the first time, we have created a pharmacological agent (4-MDM) with which the aminopeptidase activity of the leukotriene A4 hydrolase can be selectively up-regulated. We hypothesized that the treatment with 4-MDM will protect lungs from developing pulmonary emphysema. Preliminary results demonstrated that the 4-MDM treatment effectively protected murine lungs from emphysema induced by intra- nasal elastase. Subsequently, we formulated 4-MDM to be stably water soluble as a potential oral agent (CDX- MDM). Enhanced water solubility of the CDX-MDM has enabled us to administer this agent in a chronic animal model of pulmonary emphysema. Building upon this preliminary work, we propose toconduct the efficacy study of the CDX-MDM in a murine model of pulmonary emphysema induced by cigarettes smoke which resembles human disease most closely. Emphysema develops over a long duration of trigger (cigarette smoke) exposure. Therefore, developinga biomarker assay which measures the pharmaceutical effects of the drug could also be a desirable tool to overcome the long duration of onset during the development of a pharmaceutical agent. We developed a biomarker assay which the aminopeptidase activityof the leukotriene A4 hydrolase can be measured in plasma ex vivo. In this grant application, we also propose to test this assay with the plasma samples from the animals treated with the CDX-MDM or placebo. In combination, this project will provide necessary evidence on which the CDX-MDM will be developed as a potential therapy for emphysema. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Pulmonary emphysema is an irreversible lung disease of increasing prevalence for which effective disease modifying therapy is not available. Based on these needs, we propose specific aims with a novel compound to develop a medical therapy for pulmonary emphysema. We believe that our project will lead to new therapeutic options for patients who suffer from pulmonary emphysema."
"Efficient Cargo and Personnel Handling System with Foldable, Removable Seats and Rollers",N68335-13-C-0295,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,1,79750.00,"TurnAround Factor, Inc.",7847 Riverside Dr,,Richmond,VA,-,No,No,No,Ron Roskowski,President,(804) 909-0971,ron@turnaroundfactor.com,Matthew Roy,Engineer,(804) 878-8328,matthew@turnaroundfactor.com,"TAF Proposes to implement a cargo and passenger handling system for the C-2A(R) consisting of foldable seats and a cargo roller system that will improve the speed, agility, and flexibility of fleet logistics support operations. The seats will fold against the sidewalls of the aircraft with a one-touch latch operable in less than 30 seconds per seatpair. The seats and cargo rollers will be attached to the existing seat rails with quick-click hardware allowing removal from the aircraft when needed. The complete cargo and passenger handling system will weight less than the existing seats. The foldable seats will be rated to 20G+ emergency loads in both the folded and in-use positions. The benefits of this system include reduced time required onboard carriers, minimized crew effort, eliminated need for hand-loaded cargo, improved crew member safety, and reduction of seat removal from the aircraft. Commercial applications include commercial mixed cargo and passenger flights in remote areas, other military aircraft, and mid-sized business jets."
Robust Representation: Real-time Characterization of Streaming Data,W31P4Q-14-C-0019,DOD,DARPA,SBIR,2013,1,149962.00,"DZYNE Technologies, Inc.",11978 Sentinel Point Ct,,Reston,VA,20191-,No,No,No,David Sammons,CFO,(703) 291-6663,dsammons@dzynetech.com,Ward Page,President,(703) 291-6661,wpage@dzynetech.com,"Current data collection is growing faster than our ability to store and analyze it. Soon, data streams of 100Gb/s will be common. These data will need to be processed as they arrive. New statistical methods for incremental analysis are needed. We propose an approach called Robust Representation which will bound the analytical processing by setting upper bounds based on the available processing environment and lower bounds based on the constraints imposed by the visualizations used by analysts for exploration and modeling."
Cognitive Fully Adaptive Radar (CoFAR),FA8650-13-M-1655,DOD,USAF,SBIR,2013,1,149959.00,Guerci Consulting,2509 N Utah St,,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Evelyn Guerci,President,(571) 431-6608,eguerci@ieee.org,Joseph R. Guerci,CTO,(703) 472-7990,jrguerci@ieee.org,"ABSTRACT: A new cognitive fully adaptive radar (CoFAR) architecture is developed that optimizes every major real-time radar function including the scheduler/controller, waveform generator, transmitter, and receiver in a closed loop fashion. The need for such an adaptive and flexible architecture is driven by the ever increasingly challenging military radar environment that includes operation against elusive and fleeting targets embedded in extremely complex clutter (e.g., urban terrain), dense multitarget scenarios, and significant intentional (e.g., electronic attack (EA)) and unintentional electromagnetic interference. The CoFAR architecture incorporates fully adaptive multidimensional channel dependent waveforms, multi-objective and adaptive resource allocation, control, and scheduling, as well as knowledge-aided (KA) and model based adaptation and expert reasoning. The CoFAR architecture is also applicable to both monostatic and distributed sensing applications with heterogeneous multiplatform resources. An integral part of this project is the development of a high fidelity CoFAR modeling and simulation capability that is based on a highly successful environment developed over the past 20 years and utilized by such programs as the DARPA/AFRL KASSPER project. The CoFAR simulation environment will provide accurate assessments of realistic performance gains relative to conventional (non-FAR) radar without the need for extensive and costly flight tests and experiments. BENEFIT: The CoFAR architecture developed in this project will result in a new radar architecture ideally suited to meet the challenges of an ever increasingly complex RF environment. The architecture will amenable to real-time operation in both monostatic and distributed sensing applications with heterogeneous resources. In addition to meeting the challenges of emerging military radar environments, the CoFAR approach is ideal for addressing the commercial radar challenges associated with operating in a crowded RF spectrum."
Lighting System for Premature Infant Incubators,1R43AG045947-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,223897.00,HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS,20209 CREEKSPRING CT,,PURCELLVILLE,VA,20132-5063,No,No,No,Alan M. Letxt,,540-751-1100,ALETZT@HEALTHCARETM.COM,Alan Letzt,,540-751-1100,ALETZT@HEALTHCARETM.COM,"ABSTRACT More than 20 million elderly people in the US have significant hearing loss but only 20% use hearing aids. Of these, 35 - 50% are dissatisfied with them, which often results in the hearing aids being returned within the trial period or left in-the-drawer . With untreated hearing loss resulting in a 200% - 300% increase in the risk of dementia, depression, and falls, and severe communication difficulties with family members and friends, it is imperative that older adults are not only screened for hearing loss and, when appropriate, fit with hearing aids, but that steps are taken to ensure patients' acceptance and proper use of, and continued satisfaction with the hearing aids. Alternative approaches for patient education and training have included DVDs (which are neither individualized nor interactive and have met with limited success), and the Internet, which is used by only 35% of people over age 65. This Phase I SBIR study will focus on older people with hearing loss who are not technology-savvy.We propose an innovative, interactive patient-centered product that builds on the home TV - which people age 65 and older watch an average of 49 hrs/week. By simply using a TV remote control, patients will view short educational videos on demand and availthemselves of other innovative and beneficial patient-centered features that are very easy to use. In addition, the audiologist will receive data on the patients' learning and behavioral experiences to further individualize aftercare. This interactive TV approach is consistent with vision articulated by Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, who said shortly before his untimely death, I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use . Our hypothesis is that the interactive TV system and content developed in this project will appeal to the targeted subgroup of patients age 60 and older, resulting in improved use of and satisfaction with their hearing aids. We also believe it will appeal to the audiologist who will use his/her time more effectively. The Phase I study will develop the interactive TV technology and comprehensible hearing aid education and training videos, and then conduct a pilot test with 30 subjects. The aims of the pilot test are to demonstrate patients' and audiologists' ease of use and satisfaction with the new system as well as improved hearing experiences as measured by two standardized instruments: the APHAB and the COSI. In Phase II, HTM will improve the product design, develop additional content based on the lessons from Phase I, and then conduct a randomized controlled trial to quantify the benefits to patients, family members, audiologists, and manufacturers. Following Phase II, HTM's sales team plans to sell or license this interactive system to retail hearing centers nationwide. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Inadequate patient education, training and follow-up by time-strapped audiologists contribute to patient dissatisfaction with hearing aids, often leading to hearing aids being returnedor relegated to a drawer. Because untreated hearing loss results in a 200-300% increase in the risk of dementia, depression, and falls, it is imperative that older adults with hearing deficits be screened and fitted with hearing aids, and that steps are taken to ensure hearing aid acceptance, continued satisfaction, and proper use. Consequently, we propose development and testing of a new, low-cost, easy-to-use product specially designed for use and acceptance by older people who are averse to the Internet: an interactive television-based system that provides patients with instructional videos on hearing aid use and maintenance, while sending valuable patient feedback to their audiologists."
The proposed research uses mobile and digital technology to provide real-time dat,N43CA130057,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,200000.00,"ZANSORS, LLC",TEQCORNER,1616 ANDERSON ROAD,MCLEAN,VA,22102-,No,Yes,No,Phd Dasgupta,,703-375-9267,ABHIJIT@ZANSORS.COM,Phd Dasgupta,,703-375-9267,ABHIJIT@ZANSORS.COM,"The primary purpose is to develop a real-time method of monitoring lymphedema patients symptoms to be used with a smartphone or tablet when the patients are away from their clinic. The Offeror has set three substantial objectives for this prototype platform (see below). The technologies will be developed using both open-source and proprietary components and will provide an innovative way to collect accurate, real-time patient data. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE"
Electrolytic Reactor for N Removal from Existing Septic Tanks,EP-D-13-037,EPA,EPA,SBIR,2013,1,79749.00,"Enviro Utilities, Inc.",621 Mobrey Dr.,,Richmond,VA,23236-,No,No,No,Gregory T. Monnett,,804-796-3911,greg@enviro-utilities.com,Gregory T. Monnett,,804-796-3911,greg@enviro-utilities.com,"According to the US EPA 2002 Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual, approximately 26 million homes, businesses, and recreational facilities in the United States use onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems (OWTD) (also called septic systems). Numerous studies have found correlations between OWTDs and elevated NO3 levels in drinking water. The U.S. EPA has reported that nitrates (NO3) were the contaminant that most frequently exceed federal drinking water standards among organic and inorganic contaminants in public water systems (USEPA, 2005).§Conventional septic tanks remove only 1-3% of total nitrogen (N) before effluent is released into the environment. Almost all current N removal technologies on the market rely on organic compound digestion as a precursor to N removal. The current technologies rely on long hydraulic retention times, hydraulic circulation, and the high amounts of aeration for any N removal through nitrification and denitrification. These pre-packaged systems generally entail a treatment train of multiple tanks coupled with recirculation pumps, aerators or large amounts of treatment media. There is a largepotential market for cost effective N removal system that the typical household could afford. Current technologies have been limited by high costs due to the required installation of new and multiple tanks. Several states are currently mandating the N removal technologies be utilized in new septicsystems in certain areas. §Enviro Utilities, Inc. (EU) a wastewater treatment system design company has collaborated with Ion Power, Inc., which specializes in ion selective membranes and electro-chemical technologies to design a unique device to remove N from within existing septic tanks. The device uses a combination of electrolytic chemistry, chemical species separation and biological transformations. §The Innovation: An Insertable Electrolytic Nitrogen Removal Device The innovation of the EU device is that it is small enough to be inserted into existing septic tanks and remove Nfrom wastewater without the need for organic compound digestion. Almost all current treatment technologies on the market rely on organic compound digestion as a precursor of N removal. Nitrogen removal in the EU system is conducted by isolating ammonium (NH4+) from the waste stream into a compactnitrifying through a cation selective membrane and electrode system. The N is ultimately converted to dinitrogen gas (N2) and released to the atmosphere. All of these processes will occur within the existing septic tank. §Project Objective 1: Test Device Configuration One key to the success of the device is that it is small enough to fit into an existing septic tank. For that purpose several configurations of the anode, membrane and cathode placement and size of the device will be evaluated. Several unknown design questions will be addressed in bench scale reactors. §ProjectObjective 2: Measure the N Removal Efficiency and the Microbial Environment Several configurations will be tested for its ability to isolate NH4+ and remove N from a synthetic domestic wastewater the N removal efficiency will be determined by direct measurements of the reactor influent and effluent NH4+ and NO3 concentrations. Denitrification efficiency will also be directly measured. The water chemistry within the device and its effects on the nitrosomonas nitrifying microbial population will be evaluated. Water chemistry parameters within the reactors to be evaluated include: alkalinity, carbon dioxide (CO2) content, and oxygen (O2) content. §Research Team
Gregory T. Monnett, Ph.D. of Enviro Utilities, Inc. is the Principal Investigator (PI). Dr. Monnett has been involved with onsite wastewater treatment designs for over 20 years. He has extensive knowledge of nitrogen dynamics and the current technologies and their applications in the marketplace. Stephen Grot, Ph.D. of Ion Power, Inc. is a subcontractor on the project. Ion Power, Inc. is a major subcontractor on the project due to their expertise with membrane technology. Stephen Grot will contribute his 15years experience working with electro-chemistry and membrane technology. Charles Hagedorn, Ph.D., Professor at Virginia Tech University, is a microbiologist and will consult with the research team and assist in the analysis of conditions that affect nitrification and denitrification. Walther Grot, Ph.D., who is a retired Technology Fellow with DuPont, in which the majority of his career with in the development of ion-selective membranes. Dr. Walther Grot will assist in the development and testing of the device configuration also a consultant. §Commercial Application This technology would create a new class on onsite wastewater pretreatment units that benefit rural development. Current technology focuses on organic compound digestion prior to N removal through extended aeration or fixed film digestion. These existing technologies usually require the installation of new multiple tanks and pumps at major costs and disruptions for the typical homeowner. The EU system can upgrade existing conventional septic tanks with an N removal component. An affordable insert the may remove 70-80% or more of the N in conventional septic systems should gain the interest of environmentalhealth officials and environmentalists worldwide. Some states are now mandating N removal in certain septic systems creating a market demand. The high cost of existing technologies has limited the use of N removal systems in rural developments. This consequently has degraded drinking and surfacewater quality. The cost saving created by eliminating organic digestion would create affordability for the typical owner of a standard septic tank. Successful configurations of the EU system evaluated in Phase I can be developed into full scale prototypes for Phase II testing."
Improving Commercial Fish Meal Free Aquaculture Diets,WC-133R-13-CN-0081,DOC,NOAA,SBIR,2013,1,95000.00,"Low Salinity, Inc.",108 Battleground Avenue,,Saltville,VA,24370-,No,No,Yes,"Steven Craig, Ph.D",,,,"Steven Craig, Ph.D",Senior Research Scientist,(276) 496-4732,scraig@virginiacobiafarms.biz,"The current emphasis in fish nutrition is fish meal replacement with a variety of alternative protein sources including plant-based, terrestrial and marine proteins. We propose to focus specifically upon the protein quality of these alternate protein sources and its potential impacts on marine fish production. Animal byproduct meals created through the rendering industry are widely utilized as intact protein sources in the aquafeed and pet food industries. This process produces fairly consistent protein feedstuffs, but the rendering process exposes these proteins to high heat and other factors that can detrimentally impact the quality of the final product. We have data suggesting that fish meals and alternative animal protein meals, both of which undergo rendering, can detrimentally impact marine fish performance under laboratory conditions. Our work suggests that rendering of protein sources destroys or modifies essential micronutrients resulting in poorer growth performance under commercial aquaculture conditions. LSI will focus on characterizing the essential micronutrients in chicken and fish meals exposed to different rendering processes, formulating and manufacturing fish meal free production diets and conducting extensive feeding trials with cobia and Florida pompano, thereby correlating the presence of absence of these nutrients back to production performance in marine fish."
"Measuring Low Fluxes of Photons, Neutral Molecules and Ions with a New Generation of Detectors",NNX13CG17P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124725.00,Space Systems Research Corporation,"1940 Duke Street, Suite 200",,Alexandria,VA,22314-3452,Yes,No,No,Rebecca Baugh,President,5713311960,baughb@thessrc.com,Federico Herrero,Senior Research Scientist,3013852188,herrerof@thessrc.com,"A new detector evaluation method (DEM) is proposed to determine the response of graphene detectors to low fluxes of photons, neutral atoms/molecules, and ions in the space environment of high to ultra-high vacuum. The method, aimed mainly at evaluation for space applications of new graphene detectors, is also applicable to other detectors operating in non-space environments. DEM will test graphene response to very low fluxes of atoms and molecules, ions, and photons; if sensitive to extremely low fluxes of a few 100/s, the timing of pulses produced by bunched events may open up an entirely new avenue to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Closely coordinating with the NASA GSFC Detector Systems Branch, DEM will characterize the detector response to enable low-cost demonstrations of ionosphere-thermosphere investigations in low-Earth-orbit in CubeSats and sounding rockets. Space-borne measurements require knowledge of the response to the three kinds of particles: photons, ions, and neutrals, to properly design experiments. DEM controls vacuum pressure at the detector and can validate the application of these new detectors to a new series of mass spectrometers that can operate over a broad range of vacuum pressures (0.1 milliTorr and lower) because of their small size?DEM will add value to cost effective NASA balloon, sounding rocket, and satellite investigations."
"Gimbal Integration to Small Format, Airborne, MWIR and LWIR Imaging Sensors",NNX13CG24P,NASA,NASA,SBIR,2013,1,124960.00,"Geospatial Intelligence and Analysis, Inc.",5225 Burke Drive,,Alexandria,VA,22309-3308,No,No,No,Joseph Findley,Business Official,7039996287,Joe.Findley@geo-intel.com,Robert L. Fischer,Principal Investigator,7037275969,Rob.Fischer@geo-intel.com,"The proposed innovation is for enhanced sensor performance and high resolution imaging for Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) and Medium Wave IR (MWIR) camera systems used in aerial imaging applications through integration with KeyW's advanced EO/IR Imaging eGimbal?(IeG) system. Increases in pixel densities with the advent of large format monolithic focal plane arrays (FPAs), as well as new detector materials, has led to the development of faster frame rate cameras in these long-wave spectral bands. These next generation systems have enabled the transition of applications and operational CONOPs more traditionally used with high resolution Electro-Optical (EO) camera systems to long wave sensors. Specifically, the SBIR team of GIA and KeyW propose to 1) design an integration plan for a more robust version of IeG, three-axis gimbal system developed from a previous SBIR with NASA Goddard, to small format, high-sensitivity, MWIR/LWIR cameras, including the development of a sensor model to perform the coordinate transformations to geo-register the long-wave imagery; 2) design a geometric and radiometric calibration approach to ensure accurate projection and image quality of the MWIR/LWIR data; 3) design the command and control software to ensure accurate targeting of the proposed MWIR/LWIR sensors; and 4) study/design techniques and operational parameters that will allow the MWIR/LWIR sensors to meet the requirements of selected target applications and products."
Mission-Aware Payloads for Unmanned Platforms,NNX13CL45P,NASA,NASA,STTR,2013,1,124994.00,Sentix,VA,,Leesburg,VA,20175-5686,No,No,No,Chris Stevenson,Business Manager,5404547458,cstevenson@sentixcorp.com,Chris Brinton,Vice President,7039803961,brinton@mosaicatm.com,"Sentix and Brigham Young University propose the research and development of embedded payload intelligence for inflight optimization of surveillance, reconnaissance, and scientific missions. The current proposal leverages a substantial body of scientific and experimental knowledge derived from the Tactical Seeability?System developed by Sentix' staff and BYU researchers to provide fully automated, optimal optical sensing over rugged 3D terrain. Discriminating features of our target capability include the following: 1.) A modular, sensor and platform agnostic framework for preflight and inflight modeling and optimization of performance in data acquisition missions, 2.) Mission impact modeling relating sensor payload configuration (states) to ""sensing value"" for the mission. 3.) An optimizer for the configuration of the aircraft and payload. 4.) An online estimator of current mission impact arising from the actual, achieved sensing, which can be used to inform a re-planning process for corrections to flight trajectories and payload configuration."
Multiple Target Tracking (MTT) of Objects Exhibiting Significant Nonlinearities,FA8750-13-C-0004,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,747107.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191,No,No,No,Paul C. Brewer,"VP, New Technology",(703) 725-3084,pbrewer@objectvideo.com,Khurram Shafique,Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9300,kshafique@objectvideo.com,"ABSTRACT: This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop novel nonlinear filtering and joint decision and estimation methods for robust and persistent tracking of multiple targets with nonlinearities in measurement and dynamic model. The key innovations in this effort include i) powerful measures of nonlinearity and non-Gaussianity, ii) efficient and accurate nonlinear point estimators that outperform widely-used extended Kalman filter and unscented filter, iii) improved methods for mesh adaptation for efficient approximate density estimation based on a numerical solution of Fokker-Planck equation, iv) mathematical models defining a continuum of multi-target data association problems in complexity and problem space, and v) ensemble tracking based on a novel joint density and (point) estimation (JDE) framework. The Phase I effort demonstrated the proof of concept by developing core technologies that form the basis of the proposed algorithms. The Phase II effort will be focused towards refinement, advancement, and integration of these enabling technologies and will include development of new algorithms and measures to handle the issues identified during Phase I, transitioning of technology and prototyping, integration of technologies into an existing ISR system, detailed quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the system and its components, and demonstration of technologies in operationally representative scenarios. BENEFIT: Automatic interpretation of sensory data has been a persistent topic of research in the areas of information theory, sensor fusion, computer vision, pattern recognition, machine learning, and psychology, but is still in a very primitive state. Robust detection and persistent tracking of targets in the scene is a critical first step towards enabling systems capable to interpret activities in the scene and provide timely situational awareness and effective forensic analysis capabilities to the analysts. The technologies proposed here enable persistent tracking of multiple targets with nonlinear dynamic and observation models. The proposed tracking techniques are generic and can be applied to many ISR sensors and applications that are characterized by complex models and uncertainties in the data, for example, urban surveillance from WAMI sensors, GMTI and AMTI tracking, 2D/3D particle tracking, and dynamic analysis of cellular organism in microbiology domain. The proposed technologies can also be used to enable real-time and forensic analysis tasks that find a lot of applications in the domains of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), persistent surveillance, and video analysis. These benefits include: (a) Timely Situational Awareness: Timely availability of reliable intelligence is critical to support military missions and objectives. Knowledge regarding the trajectories of targets, their interactions with each other and other scene elements is a critical part of intelligence and its automated extraction from surveillance data will help expedite the dissemination of relevant intelligence to the commanders in the field. (b) Reliable Inference: Existing automated video surveillance and monitoring tools allow users to specify security rules in the form of tripwires and exclusion zones on maps or images. Persistent tracking of targets will enable users to receive alerts with high precision thus increasing the reliability of the overall system and user-confidence on the output of the intelligent system. (c) Comprehensive Video Analysis: Robust target tracking in videos is a step closer towards comprehensive video analysis, i.e., automatic extraction of a description of the elements, activities, and events in the scene."
Real-time Overlay of Map Features onto a Video Feed,FA8501-13-C-0005,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,2,742615.00,ObjectVideo,11600 Sunrise Valley Drive,Suite # 210,Reston,VA,20191,No,No,No,Paul C. Brewer,"VP, New Technology",(703) 654-9314,pbrewer@objectvideo.com,Andrew Scanlon,Principal Investigator,(703) 654-9300,ascanlon@objectvideo.com,"ABSTRACT: Current video feeds from airborne sensors such as Predator, Argus-IS, Argus-IR, Gorgon Stare and others excel at providing high resolution imagery from a birds-eye vantage point. While those pixels offer the analyst the eye-in-the-sky, today's systems rely on the analyst to interpret the scene without the benefit of additional context that can be obtained from readily available data types, such as terrain and elevation information, roadways, points of interest, Controlled Airspace Symbology, Restricted Airspace Boundaries, FAA Centers, radar, and LIDAR data. Our goal under this proposed effort is to augment the user experience by adding geo-registered layers from these information sources. In Phase I of this project, ObjectVideo demonstrated prototypes of all the necessary components and core technologies of a viable real-time overlay system. For Phase II, ObjectVideo will focus on refining and extending the core technologies and integrating these components into an end-to-end overlay system. OV will also implement novel features including utilization of external reference data for improved overlay accuracy, optional rendering of occluded overlay elements, and an expanded context view providing greater situational awareness of regions surrounding the UAV""s field-of-view. The system will provide users with critical single-click, single-glance information on any client capable of displaying video. BENEFIT: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a critical component of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for all branches of the armed forces, but the limited viewing angle and resolution of typical UAV video can limit the ability of users on the ground to act. The proposed system would increase the situational awareness of users by providing important contextual and targeted information, overlaid onto the video in a clear and accurate manner, in real-time. The enabling technologies proposed have the following benefits, within this project and in future efforts: Performance and Scalability: The system takes full advantage of COTS GPU hardware to render multiple overlay streams in real-time. System architecture allows scalability in several dimensions. Accuracy: advanced computer vision based techniques correct for common errors in sensor metadata and yield far more accurate overlay results than nave approach. Low-Cost: COTS PC and GPU hardware Flexibility: The system can be configured as a scalable client-server architecture, or deployed on a single laptop for stand-alone use. The standards-based client-server architecture allows interoperability with a wide variety of client platforms, including mobile devices. Extensible via SDK: Overlay and VDMS SDKs allow developers to add data types, custom overlays, or incorporate the system into new applications Compatibility: Standards-based approach allows interoperability with a wide variety of data and applications. Intuitive User Interface: Easily leveraged by novice users. The completed system will provide an inexpensive, high-performance overlay system which provides valuable situational awareness to consumers of UAV video feeds. Potential commercial and military applications include: Augmented Reality Airborne Video Exploitation Soldier Helmet-Mounted, Smart-Phone and Vehicle-Mounted cameras"
Automated trace gas molecular analyzer using rotational spectroscopy,W31P4Q-13-C-0185,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2013,1,99991.00,BrightSpec,675 Peter Jefferson Pkwy,Suite 480,Charlottesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Robert Lloyd,CEO,(434) 284-0135,bob.lloyd@brightspec.com,Robin Pulliam,Program Manager,(434) 202-2391,robin.pulliam@brightspec.com,"Design of a custom chirped-pulse Fourier transform (CP-FT) mm-wave rotational spectrometer to meet the chemical analysis needs of the ARMY will be informed by current BrightSpec instrumentation which includes a CP-FT spectrometer operating in either the 260-290 GHz or 530-580 GHz frequency range. The 260""290 GHz spectrometer uses recently developed segmented CP-FT techniques coupled with high-throughput signal digitizers to achieve real-time, broadband spectrum acquisition performance. The key components are: 1) the high speed arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) capable of creating tailored waveforms (pulses) for spectrum acquisition and analysis, 2) high-power active multiplier chains (AMC) used for generating the millimeter/submillimeter excitation pulse and the low noise heterodyne receiver, 3) high-speed, 8-bit signal PCI digitizer with FPGA accumulator for real time signal averaging enabling a near 100% measurement duty cycle."
Model-Based Compositional Reasoning for Complex Systems of Systems,FA8650-13-M-2368,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149706.00,Dependable Computing LLC,2120 North Pantops Drive,,Charlottesville,VA,22911-8648,No,No,No,John C. Knight,Manager,(434) 563-3183,john.knight@dependablecomputing.com,M. A. Aiello,Senior Scientist,(434) 962-7201,tony.aiello@dependablecomputing.com,"ABSTRACT: The proposed research will develop a technique to enable compositional reasoning about complex systems of systems. The core of the approach is to enhance a system modeling language with sufficient formalism to enable such reasoning at both the system and system-of-systems levels. The enhancements that will be developed are in three major areas: (1) a novel real-world type system and associated type-checking mechanism that will allow real-world attributes to be associated with the types of entities in system models, (2) rigorous specification of subsystem and system properties using pre- and post-conditions, (3) synthesis of system-of-system specifications from the specification of subsystem and system properties using specification-extraction technology, and (4) proofs of properties of system-of-system specifications using a theorem-proving system. BENEFIT: There is extensive potential for the application of the technology that will result from this research in many DoD and non-DoD applications. Complex systems of systems arise in many domains including: manned aircraft, unmanned air systems, medical devices, rail and other surface transport systems, nuclear power systems, weapons systems, and networked information systems. Development and demonstration of the technology within this project will provide an effective and efficient mechanism for reducing the risk of adoption of the technology in relevant domains. We will lever our relationships with industry and regulatory authorities to promote the application of the technology developed under the proposed effort by: (a) using the results developed under this effort as examples for others to examine, (b) adapting the results to illustrate the potential to engineers and managers who indicate interest in the technology, and (c) seeking development contracts to exploit the technology for new customers."
Tactical Information Management (OCCAM),N00014-13-P-1157,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,148509.00,"Arctan, Inc.",2200 Wilson Blvd. Ste. 102-150,,Arlington,VA,22201-,No,No,No,Michael Morefield,"Director, Arctan Inc.",(202) 379-4723,michael@arctan-group.com,Michael Morefield,"Director, Arctan Inc.",(202) 379-4723,michael@arctan-group.com,"A system to automatically identify mission-relevant information within modern tactical databases, score them relative to current mission state, and transmit the most important elements in a timely manner to small unit leaders and other decision elements subject to the constraints of both human and digital tactical bandwidth."
Integrated Solution for SSD Forensics,HSHQDC-13-C-00077,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2013,2,749876.00,"S34A, Inc.",1532 N. Wakefield St,,Arlington,VA,22207-2138,No,No,No,LeMarque Sheppard,,,lemarque@s34a.com,Hank Wallace,,,hwallace@s34a.com,"S34A, Inc. proposes to build upon our successful Phase I R&D effort and commence the development of an integrated hardware, software, and service
solution that facilitates the extraction of forensic data from SSDs - data that resides outside the Logical Block Address (LBA) space and is not accessible
by traditional computer forensic techniques. This product development work will be performed in coordination with experts from a number of Federal
computer forensics labs. When complete, the hardware and software products from Phase II will allow forensic examiners to exploit ""stale,"" deleted or
overwritten data that has been removed from the user addressable space as a result of garbage collection and TRIM commands. This integrated
solution will provide Federal, State, and Local law enforcement with a capability that does not exist today. With SSD shipments expected to top 240
million units by 2016, this solution set will be essential to the effective performance of day-to-day law enforcement efforts to combat criminal and
terrorist acts. TRL at beginning of Phase II - 4. TRL at end of Phase II - 8."
High Precision GSM-Compatible Ranging,W15P7T-13-C-A310,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,98307.00,Vesperix Corporation,1100 North Glebe Road,Suite 1010,Arlington,VA,-,No,No,No,Tom Wallace,President,(703) 224-4422,tom.wallace@vesperix.com,Tom Wallace,President,(703) 224-4422,tom.wallace@vesperix.com,This research program develops and demonstrates a ranging method capable of GPS-like accuracy (less than 3 m RMS error) using signals compatible with GSM cellular networks. The method operates without interference with GSM service and can be implemented using standard cellular hardware components.
Development of an Onboard Video Processing Platform for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS),FA8650-13-M-1638,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,149905.00,Blue Ridge Envisioneering Inc,14450 Broadwinged Dr.,,Gainesville,VA,-,No,No,No,Edward /Zimmer,President,(703) 927-0450,ned@br-envision.com,Andrew Krause,Systems Engineer,(703) 927-9952,andrew@br-envision.com,"ABSTRACT: In order to accommodate the transition from standard to high-definition imagery in unmanned airborne platforms, it is necessary to find a way to reduce the increased transmission bandwidth of the system. One viable solution is to provide an onboard image processing computer that tracks objects of interest and transmits only that portion of the image in high-definition. However, UAV onboard processing must fall within strict SWAP constraints. In order to meet this challenge, multiple mobile processors will be evaluated to determine which has the best balance of processing power, flexibility, ease of programmability and relevant built-in image processing capabilities. The industry standard Qseven carrier board will provide a common platform for testing multiple mobile ARM-based processors. Each processor will be first tested against multiple image processing algorithms, benchmarked for speed and throughput. Ease of programmability will be evaluated as time spent adapting a functioning x86 implementation of each algorithm over two steps, basic functionality of the algorithm and optimized algorithm using features built into the hardware such as a GPU. The results of these tests will then be evaluated to determine if there is a platform that provides the necessary processing power to perform on-board image processing for a UAV. BENEFIT: The key benefit is to preserve the ability to stream video offboard UAVs while reducing the size, weight, and power required by the harware. BRE has identified several opportunities to commercialize the technology developed under the proposed effort: 1. Near-term disaster assessment from UAV or Balloon 2. Robotic Video Applications 3. Weather-balloon borne imaging of crop yields"
Autonomous Profiling and Parallelization (APP) Tool,N68335-13-C-0411,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2013,1,79935.00,TECHNSYS INC,7398G WARD PARK LN,,SPRINGFIELD,VA,22153-2824,Yes,No,No,Soon Lee,President,(517) 308-3690,SLee@TechnSys.com,Mike Han,Project Manager,(571) 308-3690,MHan@TechnSys.com,Technsys Inc. proposes to develop an automatic parallelizing (APP) tool to identity the potential performance bottlenecks of legacy software code and then convert inefficient code segment into highly scalable and optimized software code by using state-of-the-art memory trace-based code optimization and parallelization techniques.
The Message in the Medium: Predicting influence and attention using attitude annotation and salience modeling,D13PC00041,DOD,DARPA,STTR,2013,1,100000.00,Ntrepid Corporation,12801 Worldgate Drive,Suite 800,Herndon,VA,-,No,No,No,Jordan Price,Director of Contracts,(571) 612-8361,jordan.price@ntrepidcorp.com,R.k. Prasanth,Sr. Member of the Technical Staff,(571) 612-8345,harold.figueroa@ntrepidcorp.com,"We propose scalable, linear-time models and algorithms for online social network analysis that remedy limitations of current state-of-the-art models by creating a capability for tracking, predicting affiliations, and roles of participants in and across online communities. The model goes beyond simple clustering and community detection by using more of the message in the media, i.e. by taking into account the semantic, pragmatic and temporal content of computer-mediated-communication by an individual and within a community. Using parallel models of individual participants and groups, we propose to augment previous algorithms by incorporating a multi-dimensional network representation incorporating attitudes of participants and groups toward entities, issues, beliefs, and other participants. Further, individual participant models will represent their roles in the community based on the nature of their online interactions. This approach will reveal social ties among group participants and the relative strength of their group affiliations. The constructed representations will reveal user-specific and group-prevalent themes, sentiments, activities, and roles. This will allow us to predict patterns of group formation and dissolution, and to predict an individual participant's likelihood of initiating or maintaining an affiliation with a group based on a mathematical comparison of that individual's profile with the group's profile."
"Techniques, Processes, And Tools For Implementing An Integrated Corrosion Detection System",N68335-13-C-0020,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2013,2,1004000.00,Laser & Plasma Technologies,1100 Exploration Way,,Hampton,VA,-,No,No,No,Mool Gupta,Chairman,(757) 876-0054,mgupta@virginia.edu,Waverly Marsh,Research Scientist,(757) 325-6783,wmarsh@lpttech.com,A phase 2.5 effort is proposed for the development of corrosion detection underneath paint layers. The proposal is based on promising results obtained under phase 2 SBIR support.
Development of new anti-inflammatory peptides for treatment of type I diabetes,1R43DK097853-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,142970.00,"SERPIN PHARMA, LLC",14645 SULKY RUN CT,,NOKESVILLE,VA,20181-,No,No,No,Soren Mogelsvang,,720-261-1109,soren@serpinpharma.com,Soren Mogelsvang,,303-724-3458,soren@serpinpharma.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease where auto-immunity leads to slow, progressive destruction of pancreatic -cells and development of overt diabetes. Currently, there is no cure for type I diabetes, which is treated with insulin replacement therapy by daily injections. Immune modulation has the potential to arrest -cell destruction and several therapeutic strategies have shown great promise, although none have been identified which permanently prevents -cell destruction in new onset diabetic patients. Recent studies in the mouse non-obese diabetic (NOD) model of type I diabetes show that specific regulatory immune cell populations (Tregs) can arrest -cell destruction, and that agents which induce these Tregs can prevent type I diabetes in NOD animals. This proposal will test if a new therapeutic peptide, SP16, can be used to induce expansion of protective Treg populations in the NOD mouse model and thereby provide protection against beta-cell destruction and development of type I diabetes. Specifically, the experiments will test the hypothesis that SP16 treatment reverses new onset diabetes in NOD mice by stimulating expansion of tolerogenic APC and Treg populations. SP16 treatment is predicted to eliminate insulitis and restore normoglycemia in the NOD animals. If the data from the proposed study show that SP16 protects against development of type I diabetes, this will justify a formal preclinical development program, as well as a follow-on Phase II SBIR application, with the goal of submitting an Investigation New Drug (IND) application to the FDA in 2013. A successful IND submission would pave the way for a Phase I Clinical Trial, in new-onset pediatric type I diabetes patients or adult LADA patients (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults), where efficacy would result in improved C-peptide levels and suggest a potential paradigm shift in treatment of type I diabetes. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The aim of this project is to test anew, therapeutic peptide drug for treatment and reversal of new-onset type I diabetes. There are currently no treatments, which can prevent or cure type I diabetes and patients are confined to insulin replacement therapy by daily insulin injections. Poorcompliance is associated with risk of serious complications. This new peptide drug has tremendous potential for improving patient quality of life and reducing health care associated costs."
Development of Novel LANCL2-based Anti-diabetic Compounds,1R41DK099027-01A1,HHS,HHS,STTR,2013,1,188333.00,"BIOTHERAPEUTICS, INC.","1800 KRAFT DR, STE 108",,BLACKSBURG,VA,24060-6370,No,No,No,Erika Smith,,571-334-5242,erikaraesmith@gmail.com,Josep Bassaganya,,540-818-2844,jbassaganya@me.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): About 28.3 million Americans have type II diabetes (T2D) and over 40.1% of middle-aged adults have prediabetes, a condition characterized by impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Current antidiabetic medications are effective in improving insulin sensitivity, but their chronic administration has significant side effects suc as cardiovascular complications, hepatotoxicity, adipose tissue accumulation, and fluid retention, bladder tumors. We have discovered anaturally occurring isoprenoid, abscisic acid (ABA) that increases insulin sensitivity and suppresses inflammation in overweight and obesity. Recently, we have identified Lanthionine Synthetase Component C-Like 2 (LANCL2) as a novel molecular target for ABA. This project will evaluate the efficacy and safety of novel ABA derivatives for treating diabetes. The specific aims for the proposed STTR Phase I are: (1) To generate 20 derivatives and analogs of ABA for development of diabetes and obesity-related inflammation drugs; (2) To perform in silico and in vitro screening to select lead derivatives for further development; and (3) To compare the oral efficacy of ABA-derived drugs against pioglitazone, an approved diabetes drug, in two mouse models of diabetes.At the conclusion of this effort our team will have identified two derivatives of ABA that have undergone extensive in vitro testing and are safe and with proven efficacy in two mouse models of diabetes. We will have filed at least one patent applicationwith robust composition of matter claims for the new class of anti-diabetic drugs that target the LANCL2 pathway. The proposed studies will differentiate the mode of action (MOA) of ABA and its new derivatives from binding to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g. This work will provide an excellent assessment of the feasibility of developing novel ABA-based treatments for diabetes. STTR Phase II will optimize two of the lead compounds with demonstrated efficacy in mouse models of diabetes and advance them along the regulatory pathway, including efficacy, mode of action, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, phamacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, toxicokinetics analysis and toxicity assessment working towards the testing required to submit aninvestigational new drug application in preparation for human clinical trials. To optimize oral drug delivery we shall develop more analogs that have molecular properties (ClogP, molecular weight, polar surface area, numbers of rings, rotable bonds, N andO atoms, hydrogen bond donors and acceptors) within the guidelines; and test their efficacy and safety. Long Term Goal: The goal of BioTherapeutics (BTI) technology will be to provide an oral therapeutic alternative to existing diabetes treatments that costs less and provides greater efficacy with reduced adverse side effects. The technology will address the overlying health problem with patients suffering with diabetes and will provide a significant commercialization potential to a market of 28.3 millionestimated to be over 12.5 Billion for prescription medication costs alone annually in the US. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Abscisic acid has demonstrated efficacy in ameliorating diabetes and obesity-related inflammation. The studies will develop a new class of safer and more efficacious diabetes drugs. Thus, the proposed STTR application is timely and important because it will help to develop superior treatments for diabetes, a disease that afflicts almost 30 million Americans."
PDE4B Inhibitors For Treating Major Depression,1R43DK097940-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,148288.00,"BIOTHERAPEUTICS, INC.","1800 KRAFT DR, STE 108",,BLACKSBURG,VA,24060-6370,No,No,No,Erika Smith,,571-334-5242,erikaraesmith@gmail.com,Ken Carter,,571-334-5242,erikaraesmith@gmail.com,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a chronic, recurring disease of the gastrointestinal tract, afflicts over 1.4 million people in the U.S. Curret therapies for IBD are modestly successful and result with significant adverse side effects, including immune suppression and malignancies. Recently, we have identified Lanthionine Synthetase Component C-Like 2 (LANCL2) as a novel therapeutic target and specifically have found that 61610, a compound of the class of bis(benzimidazoyl)terephthalanilides, exerts potent anti-inflammatory activity in mouse models of IBD. The specific aims for the proposed SBIR Phase I are: Aim One will validate LANCL2 as a novel therapeutic target for IBD. Site-specific, atomic-resolution receptor-ligand binding studies will provide the most detailed information related to drug-therapeutic target binding and facilitate a rational design and discovery of novel agonists. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), a label-free thermodynamic technique, and afluorescence-based assay will be used to quantify binding affinity and reaction stoichiometry between LANCL2 and its ligands (i.e., abscisic acid (ABA) and 61610). Previously, our group and others found that ABA binds to LANCL2 and activates cAMP production and activates protein kinase A (PKA). Thus, we will explore downstream effects of administering 61610 on cAMP/PKA signaling. Aim Two will evaluate the efficacy of the bis(benzimidazoyl)terephthalanilides class of anti- inflammatory compounds for treatinggut inflammation. To optimize drug efficacy of bis(benzimidazoyl)terephthalanilides for anti-inflammatory effects in IBD, we will (1) generate 20-50 derivatives and analogs of 61610, (2) perform compound screening based on LANCL2 binding, cAMP/PKA signaling and exclusion of PPAR gamma activation to select 3 lead derivatives/analogs for further development in vivo, and (3) compare the oral administration efficacy of 3 lead compounds against the parent compound 61610 and prednisolone, a steroid used by IBD patients, in mouse models of IBD. SBIR Phase II will optimize two of the lead compounds with demonstrated efficacy in mouse model of gut inflammation and advance them along the regulatory pathway, including efficacy, mode of action, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME), phamacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), toxicokinetics (TK) analysis and toxicity assessment working towards the testing required to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application in preparation for human clinicaltrials. To optimize drug delivery in the gut we will develop more water-soluble 61610-based pro-drugs and test their efficacy and safety. Long Term Goal: For moderate to severe cases of IBD, the goal of BioTherapeutics technology will be to provide an oral therapeutic alternative to existing treatments that costs less and provides greater efficacy with reduced adverse side effects. The technology will address the overlying health problem with patients suffering with IBD and will provide a significant commercialization potential estimated to be over 800M. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) afflicts over 1.4 million people in the United States with a worldwide prevalence reaching up to 396/100,000 persons. This Phase I SBIR will develop a novel class of potent anti- inflammatory drugs for IBD. The proposed feasibility studies will lay the groundwork for creating new chemical entities and discovering how bis(benzimidazoyl)terephthalanilides modulate immune and inflammatory responses in humans."
Buoyancy based bioseparations,1R43DK098856-01A1,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,276085.00,"SARFEZ PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.",10402 DUNN MEADOW RD,,VIENNA,VA,22182-1327,No,Yes,No,Fatima S. Khwaja,,703-759-2565,FATIMA.KHWAJA@SARFEZ.COM,Peter U. Feig,,703-759-2565,PUFEIG@GMAIL.COM,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Diuretics are the most widely prescribed class of drugs. As renal function deteriorates in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) whose glomerular filtration rate falls below 60 ml/min (stages 3 to 5) they become more salt-sensitive and require a low BP goal to slow the progression of their disease and to prevent the associated cardiovascular disease (CV) complications. This mandates a predictably effective diuretic. However, at CKD gt 3-5, thiazides lose their efficacy. Patients are often switched to furosemide although this suffers from a number of limitations. Furosemide has a highly variable bioavailability (10 to 80%) that leads to unpredictable efficacy and its accumulation in advanced CKD leads to ototoxicity.It has a very short duration of action of about 4 hours that permit post- diuretic renal Na+ and fluid retention that limits the loss of body salt and water (efficacy) and t an abrupt action ( Niagara effect ) that reduces the quality of life and causes neurohumoral activation, including aldosterone secretion, that are associated with bad clinical outcomes. Torsemide is a fully effective loop diuretic that is eliminated largely by hepatic metabolism and so does not accumulate in CKD. It has a high and constant bioavailability (80- 100%) in CKD, and blocks the secretion and action of aldosterone, thereby generally maintaining serum potassium concentrations. However, it too suffers from a limited duration of action (4 -8 hours). To address this unmet need andto provide a better diuretic for hypertensive CKD, we have formulated an extended release (ER) form of torsemide that releases the drugs over 8-10 hours in solution. This grant is a proposal for a phase 1 within - subject, cross over, single dose trialtocontrast torsemide ER with torsemide immediate release (IR) in 8 normal individuals on fixed Na+ and K+ intakes. Aims 1 will compare pharmakokinetics; aim 2 pharmakodynamics (Na+ and K+ balances) and aim 3 neurohurmonal activation. If successful, this willlead to a similar phase 2 trial in patients with CKD 3-5. This would be followed by an efficacy and safety trial in patients with CKD 3-5 that includes the effects of torsemide ER compared with the standard-of-care drug, furosemide, comparing antihypertensive efficacy and safety in this population. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Loop diuretics such as torsemide are required to reduce body salt and water and to control hypertension in patients with chronic kidney disease. However, the duration of action of torsemide is short, which allows time for the kidney to regain the salt and water lost by the action of the drug. We are proposing a clinical trial of an extended release formulation of torsemide to confirm that this extended release formulation leads to a prolonged delivery of torsemide to the blood and thereby to a better salt and water loss. This is the first step in developing a new long-acting diuretic for the two million Americans that suffer from high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease."
Identifying Novel Targets for Recruitment of Brown Adipocytes,1R43EY023505-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,225000.00,RETIVUE,2505 HILLWOOD PL,,CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA,22901-2922,No,No,No,Paul Yates,,855-227-2020,pyates@retivue.com,Paul A. Yates,,855-227-2020,pyates@retivue.com,"7. Project Summary Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a treatable eye disease which affects the vision of neonatal infants with a birth weight of lt1500g or gestational age of lt30 weeks. There are 28,000 infants born each year in the US at risk for developing ROP. However, even with advanced treatments available 400 to 600 of these infants be- come blind each year. Globally, there are more than 50,000 documented cases of preventable childhood blindness due to ROP. The World Health Organizataion has thus declared ROP a leading cause of vision im- pairment in children. These high numbers can be primarily attributed to inadequate screening of these infants due in part to the low numbers of pediatric-trained ophthalmologists and ROP diagnostic equipment in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Recent studies suggest that tele-screening with wide-angle retinal photography in combination with early treatment practices may be an economically feasible, cost-saving measure for im- proving the current standard of care for ROP, preventing many cases of needless blindness. In this application, RetiVue LLC proposes to develop the Atlas, a low cost (lt 5,000 market cost), high resolu- tion, hand-held device capable of wide-field imaging of the retina for easily diagnosing and screening for ROP. Our unique design approach leverages novel retinal imaging technology developed at the University of Virginia that enables an extremely low cost device capable of capturing a 120 retinal field which may find use in tele- retinal ROP screening programs. Using this technology, we will first engineer a wide-angle objective lens module capable of providing a continuously illuminated 120 view of the infant retina. This lens module will be designed such that the contacting surface willbe physically compatible with the unique anatomical structure of the infant eye and surrounding facial bone structure. An alpha-prototype will then be constructed which inte- grates the objective lens module with a common consumer digital camera with customized firmware for image capture. The Atlas prototype will emphasize a lightweight (lt1.25lbs) design with a compact, hand-held form factor. Work completed during this Phase I application in addition to subsequent clinical testing will lay the technical foundation onto which the world's first simple-to-manufacture, affordable, highly portable, and easy-to-use ROP screening device can be commercialized. We hope that this highly disruptive device can help overcome the primary economic and technological accessbarriers to establishing successful ROP tele-screening pro- grams within NICUs in developed and developing countries alike. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a potentially blinding eye disease that affects preterm babies with very low birth weight. Each year in the US, 28,000 babies are at-risk for developing ROP, with more than 500 babies becoming blind from this disease. Proper screening and early treatment of ROP is cost-effective and can greatly reduce vision loss due to ROP, but it is not readily available at many hospitals. At RetiVue LLC, we are de- signing the Atlas, an affordable, portable camera that can accurately detect ROP. We believe the Atlas will for the first time enable widespread telemedicine screening programs for this disease throughout the US and abroad, and thereby greatly reduce the risk and cost of unnecessary blindness in these infants."
Refinement of an Insert Hearing Protector Evaluation System Based on the NIOSH Qu,1R43OH010380-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,1,99663.00,"ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.",2020 KRAFT DRIVE,SUITE 3040,BLACKSBURG,VA,24060-,No,No,No,Michael Abbott,,410-385-0200,abbott@adaptivetechinc.com,.. -. .,,410-385-0200,abbott@adaptivetechinc.com,"PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published a specific need under the topic area of Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment for High Risk Occupations to develop an inexpensive hand-held earplug test device based on the NIOSH QuickFit concept. As such, this project, as proposed, has been designed to develop just such a system. Using the QuickFit prototype device as a baseline, Adaptive Technologies is proposing to refine the concept toinclude functionality and system architecture based on the psychoacoustic response and environmental sensitivities of such a device. As part of the development cycle, testing will be conducted to qualify the performance of the baseline concept technologyin representative environments. The human interface design will also be reconsidered to allow for simple, quantitative assessments to be made without concern for misuse or subject cheating. A successful conclusion of the Phase I and Phase II projects associated with this proposed research area will be a field ready insert hearing protection evaluation system that allows self-proctored testing for proper earplug use. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Approximately 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job [8]. While we would prefer to eliminate noise through engineering controls or reduce exposure to noise through administrative controls, hearing protectors are critical when noise is unavoidable. Hearing protectors only workif they are fit and worn properly. Unfortunately, some studies have shown that this is only true for about 7% of the population [3]. In fact, average protection values in the real world are much lower than the labeled Noise Reduction Ratings (NRR) determined in laboratories with trained and motivated subjects. Worse yet, many people receive virtually no protection at all because of poor fit [3]. It's hard to tell f hearing protectors are working well just by looking at them. A more accurate approach is needed to provide immediate feedback on how well someone is being protected. The QuickFit technology has been shown in the laboratory environment to be an effective means by which someone can self-test for hearing protector attenuation of at least 15dB. Thisproject aims to refine and commercialize the QuickFit technology to make it available to a broader population of users."
IGF::OT::IGF - RandD Medical Biomedical,N44OD130014,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2013,2,505456.00,NET ESOLUTIONS CORPORATIO,8280 GREENSBORO DRIVE SUITE 200,,MCLEAN,VA,22102-3885,Yes,Yes,No,Sandeep Somaiya,,,SANDEEP@NETE.COM,Sandeep Somaiya,,,SANDEEP@NETE.COM,"LIST OF SPECIFIC GOALS FOR PHASE II Develop working software, visualizing variety of research-related data. Produce relevant, meaningful, and valuable visualizations to address some of the pressing needs of NIH portfolio managers with minimal burdenon subject matter experts. Provide powerful analytics support for: Reporting Workforce Studies Scientific Trend Analysis Portfolio Content Analysis Program Evaluation Operations/Organizational/ Institutional Research Make more data available for analysis. o Semantically enable NETE A"
Cognitive Multi-Sensor Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Detection Technologies (COMIDT),FA8650-12-C-1357,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,2,749821.00,"Lattice Government Services, Inc.",2411 Dulles Corner Park Suite 220,,Herndon,VA,20171-1645,No,No,No,Debbie Noviello,Contracts Manager,(703) 525-7500,dnoviello@latticeincorporated.com,Dan Reuben,Senior Scientist,(301) 580-9127,dreuben@latticeincorporated.com,"ABSTRACT: Nearly half of all U.S. and coalition deaths in Afghanistan are due to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In addition, more than 600 IED incidents occur monthly throughout the rest of the world. While JIEDDO has introduced a number of sensor technologies that reduce the effectiveness of a given IED, the total number of devices continues to rise. Insurgents adapt and counteract new detection methods, and no one system is currently capable of detecting multiple components of an IED threat. To address this challenge, LGS is teamed with the University of Washington, Ahura, Rajant, and Raytheon to build a system that standardizes and normalizes heterogeneous sensor data in a repository. This data is then pulled into a cognitive engine that uses an artificial neural network to calculate an overall probability of an IED utilizing the sensor data, its known limitations, and outside reference sources. The information is reported in near real time on a laptop, with data sharing to continuously improve the predictive capabilities. A radio interface allows use with sensors that lack communication capabilities as well. This technology will virtually eliminate IED false positives and false negatives, while creating an ever changing sensor platform to which the enemy cannot adapt. BENEFIT: IED detection equipment is currently a $5.6 billion market worldwide providing a large commercialization opportunity for the Phase II prototype in improving Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and combat engineer mission efficiency, while protecting warfighters, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and law enforcement personnel worldwide. The prototype system will significantly improve IED predictive capabilities and reduce false positives by an estimated 50-75%. The initial system will work with explosive, Ground Penetrating and Synthetic Aperture Radar (GPR/SAR), Radio Frequency (RF) detectors, video/intelligence feeds, and seismic sensors. Once matured, the technology will also be applicable to the $7.5 billion artificial intelligence and sensing market in applications both within and outside the DoD. These include automatic target recognition and Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF), as well as generalized multi-sensor decision support in consumer, environmental, agricultural, medical, and safety applications. Other commercialization opportunities include navigation and the artificial vision field, which is itself a $21 billion market."
"Supporting Health, Activities, Resources, and Education: The SHARE Program for ea",1R44AG044242-01,HHS,HHS,SBIR,2012,1,206555.00,"FIT INTERACTIVE, LLC",2210 TORONTO ST,,FALLS CHURCH,VA,22043-1931,Yes,No,No,Elia Femia,,703-532-5133,Elia.Femia@verizon.net,Elia Femia,,703-532-5133,Elia.Femia@verizon.net,"DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The SHARE Program: Supporting Health, Activities, Resources, and Education is a seven-session early stage intervention for care dyads (the IWD and a family CG) that takes advantage of a time when the IWD can still discuss the diagnosis and plan for the future. Communication and planning offers preventive short- and long-term benefits:1 1) IWDs feel reassured that the CG will look after their best interests later in the disease; 2) CGs feel empowered to obtain resources that prevent the accumulation of stress; and 3) The erosion of health and well-being over both the short- and long-term is prevented.1,2,4 The SHARE Program is one of few evidence-based interventions that takes a dyadic approach to responding to the needs of early-stage families. Product. The proposed Fast Track project involves the development of a training curriculum package and iPad app to train care professionals to implement the SHARE Program. The package will consist of an innovative multi-module web-based learning platform to learn skills and iPad technology to be used with SHARE participants. SHARE provides education, teaches communication, and helps care dyads create a future care plan that includes the points of view of both the IWD and CG. It assists dyads in the early stages, before stressors leave CGs exhausted and IWDs become unable to express their own preferences. Our prior work found: 1) early-stage IWDs often welcome and have the intellectual competence and willingness to participate actively in discussions about their disease and plan for the future, and 2) CGs have a better understanding of care preferences and appropriate services and strategies for long term care.1-3 Phase I Objectives are to take knowledge gained from our previous controlled experimental settings and apply it to development of the technologies. Specific Aims are to: 1) Develop content to be included in the technologies ;2) Produce 2-3 prototype training modules and a prototype app, and 3) Determine the feasibility and acceptability of the training package based on evaluations from: 18 care dyads who have already gone through SHARE, 6 current SHARE counselors, and 36 dementia care professionals representing a broad range of existing community-based and health care organizations who are new to SHARE (total n=60). Phase II Objectives are to complete the development of the SHARE training package and conduct a fidelity trial to test its effectiveness on new SHARE counselors. Specific Aims are to: 1) Produce a complete 10-module SHARE web course and develop a website that provides support and supervision materials; 2) Complete development of the app that will contain key session tools for counselors to use during sessions, and 3) Conduct a full scale fidelity trial with 20 new SHARE counselors and 60 early-stage dyads (total n=80). Commercialization Potential: There is a market need for programs that train care professionals to serve a fast growing number of early-stage IWDs and their family. The SHARE Program can be implementedwithin existing community-based programs that increase the capability of these programs to serve this population. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Individuals who are in the early stages of dementia (IWD) and their family caregivers (CG) benefit from being active participants in the planning of the IWD's future care. An IWD's en- gagement allows them to maintain strong bonds to the family and enables CGs to understand the IWD's values, preferences, and wishes when the IWD is still able to communicate these wishes. The SHARE Program is an evidence-based multi-session program for care dyads (the IWD and CG) who are dealing with early-stage dementia. In research trials, the program has been shown to improve short term knowledge and communication and long termmood and well-being.1,2,4 The current application is to develop a SHARE Training Package consisting of a training manual, a web-based course, and apps to train care professionals who serve early- stage dyads. The value of the training package is in increasing the capability of community- based aging services organizations to provide a high level of service to families who are just entering the market for current and long term care."
Manufacturing Expertise as a Service Portal,DE-FG02-12ER90222,DOE,DOE,SBIR,2012,1,147796.00,Nimbis Services Inc.,1616 Anderson Rd.,,McLean,VA,22102-1602,No,No,No,Robert B. Graybill,Mr.,703-286-0770,Robert.graybill@nimbisservices.com,Mark Gray,Mr.,703-286-0770,mark.gray@nimbisservices.com,"A series of national innovation reports, surveys, and case studies sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness, University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute, industry groups, and government agencies uncovered inadequate adoption of high performance computing (HPC) technology in business because of a pervasive lack of expertise on the technologies associated with HPC (hardware, system software, and applications) and an inability for companies to determine HPCs potential return on investment (ROI) for their business. In addition it was found that companies partnering with academic and laboratory HPC centers achieved breakthrough discoveries and consider the centers a national hidden gem that should be promoted far more aggressively to U.S. businesses. The Nimbis Services, Inc. proposed approach is the implementation of a cloud marketplace Manufacturing Expertise-as-a-Service (MEaaS) that matches available computing, software, and human expertise resources with an initial focus on DOE national laboratorys technology and experts with a natural expansion to include consulting firms, individuals, other government laboratories, academic centers and nonprofit manufacturing centers to assist industry in solving their real world problems using state of the art tools and resources. Commercial Applications and Benefits: The rapid growth of the internet as a global innovation stimulant has already demonstrated what happens when the barriers to information are lowered. MEaaS has the potential of creating the next wave of innovation by unlocking the human capital (expertise) beyond the boundaries of just large companies, academic, and laboratories in solving real world problems."
Body Wearable Radio Direction Finding (DF) Antenna,W15P7T-12-C-A110,DOD,ARMY,SBIR,2012,1,149782.00,Applied Signals Intelligence,"11501 Sunset Hills Rd., Suite 300",,Reston,VA,20190-4740,No,No,No,Jerry Lynch,COO,(571) 295-5488,jerry.lynch@asigint.com,John McCorkle,CEO,(240) 463-3305,john.mccorkle@asigint.com,"Significant and growing use of communications, remote sensing and triggering devices by friend and foe are characteristics of modern warfare. The ability to Direction Find (DF) on the resultant radio transmissions is a critical capability. Advances in electronics and battery packs have enabled miniaturized DF processors that are easily hand carried onto the battlefield. However, advances in antenna and RF architectures have not kept pace. As a result, small DF processors are encumbered by relatively large and heavy antenna subsystems with resultant concealment and deployment challenges. The primary challenges for traditional antenna solutions have been imbalances, interactions, and mismatching between small size antenna elements. ASI has developed a novel Dual Port Antenna (DPA) solution for DF that enables hand carry and man wearable systems. The pattern of the DPA becomes more directive as frequencies drop, opposite of conventional antennas, and precisely what is required in man-wearable DF applications where nulls are required to cancel reflections off of the operator. Creating a man-wearable DPA antenna array for a field deployed DF system is the immediate objective of this proposal, followed by broader dissemination of the technology."
Scalable MTD Based on SCIT Technology,HSHQDC-12-C-00027,DHS,DHS,SBIR,2012,1,99991.20,SCIT Labs Inc,13834 Springstone Dr,,Clifton,VA,20124,No,Yes,No,Arun Sood,,,asood@scitlabs.com,Arun Sood,,,asood@scitlabs.com,"SCIT Labs SBIR proposal is in response to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Science and Technology call for new approaches to
cyber defense using Moving Target Defense (MTD). SCIT Labs' is proposing a set of research tasks to enable organizations to evaluate the viability of
MTD defense and the real world requirements for successfully deploying MTD into existing enterprise information systems.
SCIT Labs, a George Mason University spin-out, designs, develops and deploys advanced cyber security products and solutions built on patented Self
Cleaning Intrusion Tolerance (SCIT) technology. SCIT technology has been successfully deployed to deliver MTD cyber defense capabilities that
address the specific issues defined by DHS. SCIT Labs seeks to undertake the research defined here to develop the empirical and quantitative
information needed to address how proactive MTD defense can be successfully introduced into existing enterprise system architectures and coexist with
current reactive, detection and remediation based cyber defense protocols and technologies. SCIT Labs has built SCITized webservers and DNS
servers that exhibit MTD properties - we constantly change the servers that are exposed to the internet. In this proposal, we focus on increasing our
system capability by integrating the SCIT servers with reactive systems that are currently deployed for cyber security. We focus on integrating with
IDS/IPS, forensics and SIEM subsystems. SCIT approach significantly reduces ex-filtration losses, deletes malware without detecting and reduces the
cost of incident management. This approach has application to virtualized environments, including cloud.
Current TRL: 6. Project end TRL: 7."
Compact and Portable Hyperlite Multi-Occupant Hyperbaric Chamber,WC-133R-11-CN-0150,DOC,DOC,SBIR,2012,2,399976.40,"PCCI, Inc.",300 N. Lee Street,Suite 201,Alexandria,VA,22314-2640,No,No,No,,,,,Robert M. Loesch,,(571) 723-9430,rloesch@pccii.com,"In Phase II, the PCCI Team will conduct the research and development required to extend the design of the multi-occupant, flexible, hyperbaric chamber to withstand an internal pressure of 165 feet of sea water (fsw), up from the 70 fsw design goal of the Phase I SBIR. This increased pressure rating will both benefit the NOAA Diving Program, by allowing treatment of divers to U.S. Navy Table 6A applications, and increase the commercialization potential of the resulting chamber design, since a 165 fsw chamber is of interest to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other organizations. In Phase II, we will also complete the design drawings and specifications for the chamber, acquire the materials for, and fabricate, a prototype of the multi-occupant, flexible, hyperbaric chamber which will then be tested to ensure the prototype can meet the requirements of the ASME Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy National Standard (PVHO-1 and proposed Case JJ), and the U.S. Navy Diving and Hyperbaric Safety and Certification Standards. We anticipate the delivered prototype will become the first of three (minimum) pressure vessels that must remain intact during the prototype testing to meet the PVHO standards, giving PCCI a firm foundation for product commercialization."
A Cognitive Architecture for Naval Mine Countermeasures (MCM),N00014-12-M-0187,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2012,1,149975.00,Knexus Research Corp.,9120 Beachway Lane,,Springfield,VA,22153-,No,Yes,No,Kalyan Gupta,President,(855) 569-7373,kalyan.gupta@knexusresearch.com,Kalyan Gupta,President,(855) 569-7373,kalyan.gupta@knexusresearch.com,"Mine Countermeasures (MCM) missions of tomorrow will increasingly exploit autonomous vehicles such as the remote multi-mission vehicle to reduce risk to personnel and equipment. However, existing approaches are limited for continuous sensing and planning needed to deal with the dynamic and uncertain nature of the MCM missions. To address this gap we will consider alternative approaches that merge symbolic and probabilistic reasoning, a complementary approach to existing mathematical optimization, to handle planning and replanning under uncertainty. We will develop and investigate a system called CAMPER (A Cognitive Architecture for MCM planning, execution, and replanning). CAMPER will respond effectively to evolving MCM environments by making and executing plans that coordinate multiple autonomous vehicles to achieve goals. This will form the basis of a promising operator friendly system that addresses the problem of decision support and automation in high-risk, high-uncertainty MCM missions. As part of CAMPER, we will investigate novel methods for deliberative planning under uncertainty, environment monitoring using distributed sensors, and explanation as a means of understanding the environment and engendering trust. We will demonstrate the feasibility of CAMPER by evaluating it on simulated missions."
Design Software for DNA-Based Sensing Nano-Architectures,W911NF-12-C-0061,DOD,OSD,STTR,2012,2,750000.00,"Parabon NanoLabs, Inc.",11260 Roger Bacon Drive,Suite 406,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Steven steve@parabon.com,Corporate Secretary,(703) 689-9689,parmentrout@parabon.com,Steven Armentrout,CEO,(703) 689-9689,steve@parabon.com,"Building on an existing grid computing platform and DNA origami design automation software that leverages such, this Phase II STTR project will produce a CAD (computer-aided design) application for designing DNA nanostructures for a variety of applications. The application, called inSequio, addresses multiple deficits that have blocked advancement in this promising field. It combines an easy-to-use interface, which allows for the specification of complex DNA-based nano-sensor architectures, with an optimization engine that computes the sequence-sets required for reliable self-assembly of specified designs. Among the many enhancements planned for Phase II, we will (1) augment inSequio""s thermodynamics model to support artificial DNA bases; (2) add a reduced model nanoscale dynamics simulator that enables global dynamics calculations; and (3) add a""region of interest""atomistic simulator for active components of the design, which will provide spectroscopic predictions related to optoelectronic sensing, particularly in the THz domain. These new capabilities will provide designers with novel insight into structure functionality during the design process. The project will conclude with a ready-to-use (TRL 9) software application. To demonstrate the utility of the resultant software, a prototype nano-scale molecular sensor for Ricin, composed of dynamic capture and reporting moieties, will be designed, developed and demonstrated."
Design Automation Software for Biomimetic Surface Presentation with DNA Origami,W911SR-13-C-0019,DOD,CBD,SBIR,2012,1,150000.00,"Parabon NanoLabs, Inc.",11260 Roger Bacon Drive,Suite 406,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Paula Gawthorp-Armentrout,VP&Corporate Secretary,(703) 689-9689,paula@parabon.com,Steven Armentrout,President&CEO,(703) 689-9689,steve@parabon.com,"A development program is proposed for a design automation software package that enables the generation of complex surfaces, with user defined or automated definition of point charge and hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties, using DNA origami as a presentation substrate. Building upon existing software for DNA origami design, this project will result in software able to optimize DNA staples and other origami modifications to achieve target charge and hydration force distributions. The objects to be generated with this software will be able to mimic any of the many surface/surface interactions found in biological or technological applications. Such design software will significantly expand the capabilities of users to produce systems that are capable of highly specific interactions with target macromolecular species."
SNAPSHOT: A System for Predicting Human Physical Traits from Sample DNA,HDTRA1-12-C-0075,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,2,1000000.00,"Parabon NanoLabs, Inc.",11260 Roger Bacon Drive,Suite 406,Reston,VA,-,No,No,No,Paula Gawthorp-Armentrout,Corporate Officer,(703) 689-9689,parmentrout@parabon.com,Steven Armentrout,CEO,(703) 689-9689,steve@parabon.com,"This SBIR Phase II project will produce a working prototype of a DNA processing system that will provide the U.S. Department of Defense with a revolutionary new forensics capability, namely, the ability to predict from a human DNA sample the physical traits of its source. The system, code-named SNAPSHOT, uses commercially available DNA processing equipment and can be deployed within any DNA processing lab, even those in theater. To date, the forensics community has used DNA as a mere biometric identifier, as though it contained no more information about an individual than a fingerprint or iris scan. However, with the advent of fast, low-cost sequencing technology, which has enabled the creation of large genotype-to-phenotype datasets, the possibility now exists to computationally mine the human genetic content of DNA for variants that predict physical traits. Having demonstrated the feasibility of producing such a SNAPSHOT trait prediction capability in Phase I, this Phase II project will deliver a working SNAPSHOT prototype and its performance will be demonstrated using blind and unblind testing, on unknown and known DNA samples, respectively, for a select set of traits that includes, among others, eye color, hair color, skin color and face morphology."
Real-Time Handling and Planning System for Operational Decisions (RHAPSODy),W15P7T-12-C-A022,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,1,98868.00,"EOIR Technologies, Inc.",P.O.Box 1240,,Spotsylvania,VA,-,No,No,No,Diane Moulton,VP Operations and Compliance,(540) 834-4856,dmoulton@eoir.com,Matt Gripaldi,Principal Investigator,(973) 331-7974,mgrippaldi@eoir.com,"EOIR Technologies understands the Army has a requirement for a real time/near real time thin client collaboration environment to support the EW common picture/battle management that integrates with DCGS-A, and does not rely on proprietary technology, extensive hardware or other dependencies that would increase cost or risk, or limit the field-ability and interoperability of the collaborative environment. As the developer of Impulse, EOIR has expert knowledge in the development of collaborative environments. In Phase I, EOIR will compare and contrast the OWF, imPulse, and HTML5 as viable technologies for developing a bi-directional, real time collaboration environment. EOIR has developed numerous software components using these technologies and will leverage these components in conducting our evaluation. EOIR has already begun the process of comparing OWF, imPulse, and HTML-5 technologies and will continue to develop and refine our analysis to deliver a recommendation and road map for migration of these technologies into a single baseline as part of our final report for Phase I."
Standoff Counter Human Deception Detection Device,W911QX-12-C-0109,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,1,99759.00,"EOIR Technologies, Inc.",P.O.Box 1240,,Spotsylvania,VA,-,No,No,No,Diane Moulton,VP Operations and Compliance,(540) 834-4856,dmoulton@eoir.com,George He,Principal Investigator,(540) 710-1591,ghe@eoir.com,"EOIR Technologies proposes to develop the Standoff Counter Human Deception Detection Device FLIR As Guide (SCHD3-FLAG) as an innovative non-contact thermal imaging technology. This stand-off collection system will measure the psychophysiological signature of subjects undergoing questioning via pore activity in real-time. The SCHD3-FLAG standoff system will measure human psychophysiological stress and emotional signatures with fidelity comparable to the galvanic skin response (GSR) of contact sensors. The SCHD3-FLAG will build on the foundational work performed by EOIR Technologies in collaboration with the Army""s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), called the Remote Electrodermal Detection-FLIR As Guide (RED-FLAG) System. EOIR Technologies will leverage the research and development of the current NVESD RED-FLAG System to develop a handheld, ruggedized system capable of assisting the HUMINT collector to accurately determine truthfulness/creditability of subjects undergoing questioning, either overtly or covertly. This system will aid in the assessment of psychophysiological characteristics at standoff distances. In addition to pore reactions, the SCHD3-FLAG will use a multimodal approach by incorporating other modalities, such as breathing rate and micro-facial expressions, which can also be analyzed to increase the accuracy of the system."
Adding Communications Mode Capability in the Periscope Detection Radar (PDR),N00024-12-P-4307,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2012,1,149992.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,linda.leonard@3phoenix.net,Bob Smarrelli,Director of Business Deve,(703) 956-6480,bob.smarrelli@3phoenix.net,This proposal describes a low-cost real-time network for sharing the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Common Tactical Picture. An architecture is proposed that uses the SPS-74 Periscope Detection Radar (PDR) as a broadcast transmitter and a low-cost digital receiver system that is installed on all participating units. A technical description is provided for the key components of the transmit and receive subsystems including estimation of key performance parameters. The system proposed is shown to have data communication capability comparable to Link 16 and is expected to be far less expensive than integration of the radar and tactical decision functions with existing combat systems and tactical data links.
Spread Spectrum Techniques for Sonar Ping Technology,N00024-11-C-4012,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,2,3999979.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,linda.leonard@3phoenix.net,Robert Judd,Business Area Director,(919) 562-5333,Bob.Judd@3Phoenix.net,"The operational need for the Non-Traditional Sensor System (NTSS) technology insertion initiative addresses the need to improve detection of quiet threat submarines in both shallow and deep water environments, and represents a critical submarine capability enhancement. The primary goal is to mature the NTSS design under this SBIR and to ultimately integrated into NTSS capability into US Navy submarines, including refits, new construction and new design programs. The Phase II/II.5 effort leverages technologies developed under the Phase I and applies these technologies by identifying an effective set of system parameters for improved performance and clandestine active area surveillance. Optimal NTSS system performance requires a balance of bandwidth and ping duration at a high source level while maintaining as much covertness as possible. The Phase I technology has the potential to increase detection ranges. During Phase II/II.5, the team will focus on analyzing and optimizing the sonar parameters for the NTSS system based on the concepts developed in Phase I. The goal of Phase II/II.5 is to demonstrate improved operational performance of the NTSS prototype at sea."
Adaptive Data Fusion for Real-time Threat Assessment,N00024-12-C-4145,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2012,2,2749148.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,linda.leonard@3phoenix.net,Bob Smarrelli,Director Business Develop,(703) 956-6480,bob.smarrelli@3phoenix.net,"We propose a data fusion framework that is appropriate for an adaptive classifier implemented with supervised and multi-task learning. The detection and data fusion (DDF) engine will map the results of advanced feature extraction algorithms (weighted multi-dimensional feature vectors) onto a nonlinear vector space which will increase separation and improve Pcc. We will investigate several different metrics of the utility of data fusion in addressing strategic and tactical courses of action. In addition, we will develop new techniques for feature adaptation and selection based upon current operational scenarios within the battle space."
Engineering Sensors for Towed Array Reliability,N00014-12-C-0364,DOD,NAVY,SBIR,2012,2,741814.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,linda.leonard@3phoenix.net,Bob Smarrelli,Director Business Develop,(703) 956-6480,bob.smarrelli@3phoenix.net,"The most significant challenge facing the Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare community today is Towed Array System availability. Submarine thin-line Towed Arrays in particular are subjected to extreme forces during deployment and retrieval in addition to tactical operations. In the past it has been especially difficult to monitor and characterize the stress imparted on the array during the deployment and retrieval. It is evident that the towed array reliability demands an objective systems engineering approach that monitors towed array health during all modes of operation. The advent of modern data networks has made it possible to perform sophisticated real time performance monitoring and fault localization (PM/FL). The analysis of this data are actionable in real-time and consist of data from existing sensors affixed to the towed array handling system and also embedded in the instrumented towed array. This information can be used to support adaptive reconfiguration of the data network in the event of failure detection, to more narrowly localize and diagnose a failure within the array, to prevent potential failures during deployment and retrieval, and assist in identifying the underlying cause(s) of the failure. The system also provides sensor diagnostic interfaces that support the rapid integration of new and novel sensors."
"Compact, Covert Periscope with 360 Degree Simultaneous Day/Night Coverage",H92222-12-C-0059,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,2,1284643.00,"3 Phoenix, Inc.",14585 Avion Pwy,Suite 200,Chantilly,VA,-,No,No,No,Linda Leonard,Director of Contracts,(703) 956-6480,linda.leonard@3phoenix.net,Bob Smarrelli,Director Business Develop,(703) 956-6480,bob.smarrelli@3phoenix.net,"3 Phoenix, Inc. proposes to build, integrate, test and deliver a modular non-rotational high definition compact periscope system for use on submerged or surface vehicles. Our design is compliant with the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) as it is based on commercial interface standards and commercially available electronics. The system will provide instantaneous 360-degree field of view in an exceptionally low profile form factor. The proposed system will provide day and night operations from full direct sunlight to star light background illumination. The unique high dynamic range multi-spectral sensor architecture provides over 120 dB of dynamic range at 30 frames per second. The proposed system is very rugged and requires no moving parts to image the entire scene. Our design incorporates RF antenna capabilities for L1/L2 Band GPS signals and can be extended to include other RF communications bands. The system incorporates a unique permanent super-hydrophobic window modification that prohibits accumulation of water, ice, or debris on the window. The multi-spectral sensor system incorporates image stabilization. The system is comprised of a range of commercially available modules that are integrated and can be adapted to multiple applications. The entire mast system only requires DC power and Ethernet."
Adaptable Multi-Layer Inference System for Distributed Sensor Networks,HDTRA1-12-P-0039,DOD,DOD,SBIR,2012,1,149976.00,"Adaptive Methods, Inc",5860 Trinity Parkway,Suite 200,Centreville,VA,20120-,No,No,No,Judy Barhorst,Director of Contracts,(703) 968-8040,jbarhorst@adaptivemethods.com,Lewis Hart,Principal Investigator,(703) 968-8040,lhart@adaptivemethods.com,"Adaptive Methods and Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State are developing a hierarchical inference approach for multi-modal unattended ground sensor (UGS) networks. that will enable significant performance gains via integrated machine learning techniques, to include In situ performance characterization and automated adaptation to site-specific environmental characteristics; unsupervised learning of activity patterns and establish a baseline for anomaly detection; flexible subject-matter expert knowledge capture and integration; and incorporation of historical and prototypical data sets. This is a multi-level fusion system distributed across sensor types and processing platforms. The deployment architecture takes advantage of specific physical characteristics and supports dynamic reconfiguration as nodes are lost or characteristi